we have a kicker
hunt and chubb best duo in football

stefanski needs to question is play calling

Brissett....look 1st game of the season and we won. he made throws to put us in position to win so that's good, but man he was up and down in the pocket.

WE WON AN OPENER

Also: DPJ was an unsung here today. Great grabs

The shot heard around the world ... good from 58 yards

Cade York for President.

That is all...

yea DPJ was clutch all game. our receivers are open but man Brissett was slow with his reads, and some of the throws were either too much on it or straight up ducks.

should been 14-0 with the 1st two series.

We ran the ball 33 times for 207 yards 6.3 yards per carry. Our QB is horrible. What else do you want him to do?

Defense in the middle and back need a ton of work, this run game with Watson will be the best ever. We need more receivers and better playcalling . York is already worth his pick. Dude is ice. Start calling him York Patty

our defense is good. need some work in the middle but we did good. but JJ3 and Delpit were caught sleeping way too much, and almost cost us the game.

That thing was good from 80 yards.

OMG CINCY just missed it HAHA

WE finally won an opener. We won so let's enjoy it for a few days anyway.

York doesn't have to buy a drink for the rest of the season!

call better plays in the redzone so we aren't relying on FG's too much. didn't like some of the sequences. i should've been specific, my beef is close to the endzone, not the entire game.

DPJ had a pretty good game.

JB seems slid short and medium, but not so much on longer throws. He is what he is.

I wanted to see a screen to Hunt to seal the game.

York for MVP.

Baker still having issues leading a game winning drive.

Meanwhile cincy just missed a chip shot fg in OT

Cinci just blew a 29 yard FG for the win in OT. 3:33 to go in OT.

You are so right.. he made some CLUTCH catches....

Wish we would have got trubisky instead of Brissett

Our safety coverage has been horrendous at times! Same story as last season. I don't know what people see in JJ...

Our WR's didn't look too bad. The weakness in the middle of our D line is a concern and the playcalling on O leaves something to be desired.

Well that one is not on Baker. He did what he needed to do but got Yorked..

I understand the gripe but he's coaching with an arm tied behind his back.

1-0.

Would have liked to see the TE's more involved.

Good Lord Brisset can throw some ugly balls.

Our D is solid. Carolina's biggest plays were flukes, penalties and a blown coverage.

DPJ had a great game.

After seeing Baker today, I'm glad we went in another direction.

Cade is a hero.

No lead is safe with Stefanski

Got Yorked!!! Love it.

Yeah, I was tossing in a little snarky "we won on opening day" comment.

shout out to the OL. kept brissett clean all game and dominated the LoS in the run game.

oh i agree for sure. Brissett...look he bought himself an extra week cause we won.

- Cade York is an absolute legend. Fit him for a gold jacket. Just saved the Browns from a complete embarrassment.

- Brissett is pitiful.

- Garrett thoroughly enjoyed sacking Baker.

- Finally...a win in a season opener.

- Chubb and Hunt are the offense. Great as always.

- Njoku with one catch on one target.

- Cooper had fewer receiving yards than Schwartz.

Go Browns

Man, I'm happy we pulled that out. I fully expected Baker to beat us. He did enough but YORK!!! lol.

I noticed a few weeks ago that the Panthers were ranked 32 in some early power rankings, but after the last preseason game, they were at 24th. The ONLY thing I could see was Baker trotting backward down the sideline staring down SKI like he did Hue. I'm glad we pulled it out.

Also, JB is going to be a nightmare. I hope we take a closer look at Dobbs. And I'm not trying to be a Debbie downer, but we beat a bottom-third team today that we should have steamrolled, in an almost lost-the-game squeaker. If QB was the issue last year, it MUST be this year too. BM>JB by a ton. I don't know if we can fix that if JB is our best backup. We will be good when Watson gets back and shakes off the rust. Until then, we need to get a lot better IMHO.

oh, and our run defense was very good today. held the panthers to 2.8 yards a rush.

j/k

That roughing-the-passer call in the last minute was brutal! We caught one huge break there. Even with the 'W', I don't feel great about it.....

All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!! Like a lot of us, I thought we blew it towards the end. Nope!

I suspect we kept Njoku in as an extra blocker to help hudson? probably why we didn't much of him

Pit just blew one of their own. 2 minutes left.

Stefanski almost loat a game where he ran 33 times for 207 yards
and Carolina didn't get s@uat from Christian McCaffrey.
What the heck is he doing?

If you run for 207, and it comes down to a freaking 58 yarder to NOT LOSE, then you have some explaining to do.

Plus.
After that effort by the Browns Defense in the first half
How the heck was that game even close?

The Baker Mayfield effect.

Think of all the times we got screwed. Do you think those teams enjoyed the wins any less?

Indy my lord

D and York are the reasons we won, for sure. But you gotta admit, Woods made a couple of head-scratchers during the fourth quarter. I hate the pins and needles we had to sit on after Mayfield's long TD pass for a 1-play score. We should have dominated this game wire to wire if our QB and backfield D were on point. Regretfully they are not. Great win, but we have a ton to work on.

Defense could be really special. Stifling all day.

DPJ looking like he did as a rookie.

Cade York - my heart sings!

Brissett - I think we'd do better with Dobbs.

Game didn't feel as if it should have been close - but we won because of an awesome kick and a lucky roughing the passer call.

Goofball son-in-law.

wild nutty first week

The stillers and bengals might end in a tie. Cincy fumbled at the 50 with I:39 to go in OT. Then had to punt it away to Pitt. with 0:56 to play in OT.

i agree, but its the 1st game of the season. we walked out with a W using a backup QB.

It wasn't pretty but we won!

First week of the NFL has been pretty disgraceful to watch. Better off not watching it.

Yep, at the end of the day, all that matters is the W.

How many kids named Cade or York will there be this year.... ;-)
CONGRATULATIONS!

The W and validation that we have a pretty awesome Kicker.

I’m concerned about the miscommunication in our secondary again. It happened a lot last year (with Harrison/Delpit) and it showed itself again twice

Baker took advantage of two blown coverages; otherwise he was pretty pedestrian.

Brissett is bad.

Another season, another 2 to 3 blown coverages a game for Woods and his D.

This game should have never been close.

Our best players played like our best players.

If you look at the stats 217 yards rushing, sacking Baker 4 times and we only allowed them 54 yards rushing the game shouldn't have been that close. No matter, most important we won and an opening game at that!!!!!

I also thought Clowney played a good game today. he was good against the run and active with his hands

The t-shirt wasn't a big deal!

He only licensed them!

He can't control what his marketing team does!

He doesn't control his brand!

Much ado about nothing!

Brissett looked terrible IMO. Our run game is awesome.

Stephanski going for it on fourth down is going to lose us games this year. If they kick the field goal in the first quarter the game would have been won. I'm with the other poster who asked what has John Johnson done since he has been here. Delpit blew that play, but JJ is the leader of the defensive backfield and I don't get the hype he gets.

Mayfield healthy looked like Mayfield hurt. He did nothing. Both scores were on busted coverage.

Throw was claiming we beat a bottom tier team, but they were favored. This game should not have been close. The busted coverage that let Baker hit an uncovered man down field looked very familiar. Letting the middle of the field be unoccupied for Baker to run it in looked very familiar. Woods better make some adjustments.

We had recievers open. Hunt had a touchdown if Brissett hits him early in the game. Schwartz actually made a catch and it was one that mattered. DPJ showed he can be a reliable go to.

I don't remember any false starts, that is a good thing. Holding McCafferry in check was a good thing.

1-0 feels good, but Jacoby needs to up his game, or we are in for some rough times.

I have a whole new appreciation for Clowney. He's his own man, he beats to his own drum, but damn he's good.

Myles is an offense wrecker.

J/C

I also thought we should have kicked the fg in the first half from the 37 (or whatever it was). We have a good kicker so we have to use it especially with such a bad QB

18/34 for 147 yards with a 4.3 AVG is not going to help us win games.

I think part of the deal on not kicking then was to give York a easy kick to start. He ended up with a PAT after that.

I agree on the going for it. I think the team now sees we can stretch the scoring zone a bit with York. You are still going to want to punt sometimes and play field position, but this game is an indicator of what we will get this year. Close games. Every point counts as they say. We can't pass up possible points.

I just want to caution people that York isn't going to make 58 yard kicks like he is going to make 38 yard kicks. We have to remain realistic.

Ok, not much too add, but Brisset is not going to scare any teams.

The run game saw 8-9-10 in the box and was still effective.

York saved the win, it should have been a loss.

All things said Baker is a better QB than JB.

Lots of calls for Dobbs in the game day thread.

Yeah no doubt about that. I understand easing him into the game (and career) … but that cap is off now haha.

A key for us will continue to be 3rd and short and how well we can execute there

York more famous than Sgt. in Cleveland. Glad that baby hooked some to go in.....Coach needs to get hit in the head with a hammer for giving points away over and over.....HIS fast start montra almost cost us the game.....yes, seven is better than three....BUT zero after a great start down the field lays an EGG. Get points early in the game. SWEET we won, but damn they are hard on a heart....GO BRowns!!!

Happy Baker isn't a Browns QB

j/c...

100% coach needs new brain giving points away. Our QB played like he plays- NO INTERCEPTIONS, no fumbles, his rating was close or better than healthy Baker. He didn't lose game AND could take credit for winning it after D imploded. Lucky we are 1-0....Go Browns!!!

Love hearing Jimmy D all a game winner

"Baker took advantage of two blown coverages; otherwise he was pretty pedestrian. "

That's what good QB's do,, and Baker had what, 6 weeks to learn a new system... I thought the kid did very well..

I'm glad that we won, but it wasn't like we walked all over him and the Panthers.

And if Watson started after a bad quarter two there would have been calls for Brissett, and after he had a couple bad quarters there would have been calls for Dobbs and after he had a couple bad quarters there would have been calls for Mond. Not out of the normal for that thread lol

I believe you have this correct.

To add, I think if the QBs had been swapped this would not have been a close game.

All I will say at this point is, Browns won. Chub and Hunt were............Chub and hunt. DPJ made some great catches. JB proved what he is: A backup. D looked okay, except for when they didn't.

2-21-1 on opening day.

That's exactly what the Browns did other than a couple of blown coverages and despite some pretty mediocre QB play.

Run more. We honestly have the ability to do what the Ravens did with Jamal Lewis for years.. Run.. Run.. Run... Run.. and then run some more.

______

My game observations:

Gotta chill on the defensive mental blow ups though. We cannot just GIVE teams free points. Overall, they played pretty well. They kept McCaf under control and kept pressure on Baker and/or deflected his passes.

Offensively, I had ZERO confidence we could get into FG range. Glad I was wrong. Gotta lean on Chubb/Hunt and whoever else to pound the rock.

I was a little pissed by not taking the 3 points in the first quarter. I understand trying to give your offense some confidence, but NFL games are too close, and we don't have a game changing QB to make up for these misses.

Felton at punt returns has me nervous as hell.

DPJ stepped up. Bryant made some crucial catches as well. Cooper did some great things out there, and him burning the DB led us to getting a TD on the PI. Schwartz is only valuable for an end around, and even then I think other players would be better at it.



Glad we got the W. Football is BACK! #gobrowns.

We can definitely thank Matt Rhule for only giving CMC 10 carries and coming out with an all out passing attack to start the game as well.

Defense played a pretty a good football game except for a couple miscommunications in the secondary, only gave up 261 total yards and held their run game to 54 yards ...

Garrett 2 Sacks on pace for 32 Team had 4 total sacks harassed Baker most of the Game batting down numerous passes early ...

Hats off to Delpit on his pick ...

Jacoby Brissett played pretty good managing things although man how many open WR's did he miss early, but no TO's he was 18-34, 147 YDS, 1 TD

Our Run Game Dominated Chubb 22 Carries 141 Yds. 6.4 YPC WHY WHY WHY does Stefanski insist on taking him out in the Red Zone?

Kareem Hunt had a great game also He had 11 carries 46 Yds. 4.2 YPC 1TD and 4 Catches 24 Yds. and a TD ...

Shout to the whole DL for continuous pressure on Baker ...

I thought Our DT's Played Well ...

The OL played Great only giving up 1 sack and open some huge holes for these RB's ...

Hats off to Ethan Pocic on a great Job in his first start and James Hudson replacing Jack Conklin ...

Our WR's played pretty DPJ 6 Catches 60 Yds. 10.0 YPC and what huge 3rd down catch for Anthony Schwartz ...

But the Biggest tip of the cap goes to Cade York 4-4 FG's Including that 58Yard Bomb to win the game ...

1-0 for the first time since 2004 ... GO BROWNS

So the kicker kicking a 58 yard field goal acted like a Heimlich maneuver for the Incredible CHOKE JOB the Head Coachs' game plan resulted in.

I don't know how, you can consistently, consistently Blow leads in the 2nd half, when you out rush your opponent on the ground by VERY BIG Margins.

There must be some analytic, that results in this as similar things happen, more than once.
The Stiller playoff game. The Chargers game last year, The stiller @ualifyer game? The at the Giants game? <No, not that one, maybe it was the at the Jets game, in 2020.
The win at the Cowboys up so big at halftime,
other games
Over and over and over again, since Stefanski became coach, they just Choke leads in the 2nd half
and even when they win them, they barely survive.

And like the Opener against the Chiefs last year, they don't always win them.

Browns @uarterback had I6 incompletions (too high a percentage)
and the Panthers @uarterback had I2 incompletions or interceptions. on a few, maybe 4 fewer pass attempts, (So a not as high of a percentage or attempts that did not end in a completion.)


Sounds like the Browns @b was inaccurate, dunno, but, get ready for a whole lot of Punts when the Browns play Real defenses, and real full sized front 7's and AFC North opponents. A Whole lot of punts, and turnovers.

First season opener win since 2004... with a backup Qb... good job boys...

A Win to open the season and no injuries reported! Next……

Injuries is a good point .. don’t really recall anybody even being shaken up

Run game is beyond elite. Calling our run game elite is offensive, even. It’s beyond that level.

We cannot see sustained success with Brisset at QB. He can’t see the field. FYI Trubisky sucks too.

Baker played exactly the same way he did with us. I don’t think their playcalling or scheme did him many favors. He is who he is. He can’t play in any system. He needs one suited to his strengths.

The blown coverages is getting frustrating. Delpit blowing coverage and then giving up on that play over the top torqued me off. I’d have him running gassers after that one.

Cade York is a missing piece of the puzzle.

The Bengals got dinged with a huge L today. The Steelers got dinged with key injuries.

Watching our DL knock down 5 passes at the LOS brought back some bad memories from that happening when Baker was throwing for us. I loved to see us recognize that potential issue and get it done.

Did JOK play much? I didn’t hear his name a lot. Same with Bell, our WR.

DPJ had a nice game, Brissett hit some throws in tight coverages but missed a couple easy throw early, and he was wide on a few simple out routes, too. Those should be easy pitch-and-catch.

No turnovers, though, and with help of a bogus roughing the passer call, he guided us to a last-second win.

Hunt and Chubb did their usual thing and Myles did his usual thing. I almost felt bad for their rookie LT, but can we stop with the blown coverage that results in an easy 75-yard TD?

Bake was under a lot of pressure early, and while I was glad to see us get the W, I’m happy for him - in hindsight, since we won - that he made some plays in the second half and didn’t embarrass himself. It’s too bad some folks here can’t give him even a bit of praise.

KS as usual, doesn’t settle for an early FG and his failed attempt on 4th down ticked me off.

Cade York.
I knew he was gonna nail it before he lined up. When his kick started to hook, it was over.

1-0, folks, and a share of the division lead.

In terms of JOK .. i noticed him a few times basically shadowing CMC out of the backfield. That may be why he went unnoticed, but that’s a huge ask (and he did it as well as possible).

Not many LBs can do it

I hope the offensive passing game will improve when they get more reps. But I want to give a shout out to #66 - James Hudson!! He came in and held down the RT position. He definately improved over last year. The oline did a good job for most of the game. And when they needed it, they held up!!... Good team win!!

Stillers suffer several key injuries in OT win over bengals. ...
more on that later.

" Did JOK play, you didn't hear his name much" ?

I believe JOK played. And another thing, you didn't hear about the Panthers McCaffrey gutting it up the middle much, and you didn't hear much about the Panthers TE Tremble doing much beyone one play, ...2 things JOK may have been defending. May have.

I…very much agree with you.

……………

j/c:

Great win! I have to admit I wanted to win this game more than almost any regular season game in awhile.

I'll get the QBs out of the way first.

JB didn't turn the ball over. He avoided multiple sacks. He made some timely throws. On the other hand, he missed way, way too many throws that could have blown the game wide open. If I was coaching him, I would coach the leaving your feet and getting off balance out of him. He's not very good, but he did not lose the game for us.

Baker did a lot of his typical stuff. Sailed a throw that was picked [probably the injured shoulder,] had 4-5 passes knocked down, mishandled 4 or 5 snaps [that's not typical, but it was a factor,] took multiple sacks, missed open throws. Fumbled the ball on a sack. On the other hand, he did not choke in the clutch like he normally does. We had a couple of busted coverages, but he made the plays. Gotta give him credit for that.

On to the rest:

Cade York is a difference maker. I won't expound because many of you already have and I don't have much to add. Dude was huge. I also want to mention that Carolina's kicker booted one out of bounds and it led to us scrong a FG right before the half. That was big!

Felton looked terrible back there. He makes me nervous. We gotta find someone else.

Our playcalling was better than Carolina's. Thank God they were trying to rely on Baker winning the game instead of McCaffrey in the first half.

Our team did not look out of shape despite what many posters predicted. In fact, Carolina was more gassed than we were. Of course, we are more physical, so that has to be factored in. I don't think people up north understand how tough the humidity -- and more importantly -- the dew point is down in this part of the country. It drains you.

Our secondary played pretty good, but the communication breakdowns are concerning. We had two mental lapses early.

With that said, I think Woods did a great job of calling his side of the game.

JOK did a nice job of shadowing McCaffrey in the first half. Didn't see it as much in the second half.

I don't know if Carolina ever even tried to test Ward?

The roughing the passer on Bryan or whatever his name is was bogus.

I was listening to a former official just a bit ago and the roughing the passer call was correct.

More than anything else, I am so happy we won this game due to all the negativity the team has received. it's one thing to receive it from the national media, it's another to receive it from fans who chose one player over the team. We won. You lost!

Just for some context - Browns Defense is going to be elite. Completing passes against blown coverages is what he's supposed to do. He's been in this offense a ridiculously short time. He and the center botched a minimum of 3 snaps, again a familiarity thing. As you mentioned, McAdoo did not use McCaffery properly till the 2nd half - and the Panthers still came within a bogus roughing the passer call of winning. I think your judgement might be a bit harsh and bit premature. I think the Panthers will score a lot of points against some of the bad teams they play.

Of course - someone somewhere wants to say that's all excuses for him. After all - having got the lead he did let the Browns score again with 1.30 left, something he would be heavily criticized for here.

You're correct Dawg. Baker did play exactly the way he did for us except today he wasn't hurt. No more excuses now. He was very mediocre.

Good point about Felton. Don’t want him back there anymore

And Baker and Brissett were playing against the same defense today too... (yeah, umhmm)
wait, Were they?

No. Carolina was ranked higher defensively last year than the Browns were.

If the playoffs were today. ( and they aren't and they won't ... but) If the Playoffs were today.
The AFC North would be, ... ... and because,

I. The stillers because they have a division win over Cincinnati
2. The Ravens because their win was an AFC win over the Jets but not in the AFC North division.
3. The Browns because their win was over an NFC team and they play in the AFC conference.
4th the Bengals because they have a loss, and because it's a division loss. ( A division of the AFC conference loss,)

Cade York mentioned in his postgame interview that the coaches told him they did not want his first kick to be a long one.

Likely did not want him to miss his first kick and then get in his own head.

What judgment did I pass?

You criticized Baker without providing seven layers of context and what ifs.

No lessons were learned after the 'Pittsburgh Started It' t-shirt incident!

Agree with you and others about Felton on PR. The muffed punt aside (thanks Herb Miller) on the other hand DF had a couple decent returns today. Overall though, I wish we had someone more reliable. He makes me worry.

LMAO

Why didn't Felton call a single fair catch?

He should be told to fair catch it no matter how far away the defense is. Direct order.

Not sure it mattered if he signaled FC or not. Dude was misjudging the ball. Catching punts is way harder than most people think.

He's so bad back there. It's nerve wracking.

Do we have anyone on the roster who has experience catching punts? We can't afford needless turnovers w/our qb situation being what it is.

Would be nice if we had brought Jarvis back. He could have helped.

Still don't understand that one. He had 7 catches for 114 today.

I hope JB is still knocking rust off and getting into a rhythm in this O. We're not going to win much with him playing like that. Game was harder than it should've been when we had the ball.

D was playing like they were going to poo the bed. Ronnie Harrison gets grief for being undisciplined (maybe that's just me), but JJ3 is right there with him. Bad blown coverage and the horse collar flag to giftwrap them the potential GW FG. Similar to JB, if the D is going to do that we're going to have a hard time winning games (we're counting on the D).

DPJ had a great game.

Njoku was invisible.

DTs played ok(?). Shocked CMC wasn't a factor.

Thought Baker played like a QB that wasn't familiar enough with his O and WRs, but I also saw a bunch of his trademark high-and-wide throws. He definitely didn't make Ski or Cleveland miss having him on our side with that game.
Speaking of which, what was up with him and all those fumbled snaps?

I'm rooting hard for Hunt. Dude needs a big year to get paid and few deserve both more than him.

Oline and Chubb did their usual thing. Tip my hat to Hudson... young guy locked it down. Somebody learned from getting thrown to the wolves last year.

Ski seriously needs to stop it on 4th downs.

The Browns Defense completely owned Baker for the majority of the game. If it weren't for the 2 blown coverages and the lucky bounce to McCaferty on Baker' 3rd muffed snap on 3rd and long, Bakers QBR would have been in the single digits. To think otherwise is silly. I was a huge Baker fan when he was here and it was tough rooting against him but I love the Browns more than Baker. That being said, I think he will do just fine in Carolina.

I support the FO and coaching staff, but I completely agree w/this take. Dumb.

I will say that DPJ played well today. But Jarvis is Jarvis.

I think that will be an issue we will face all year...obviously Jakeem was set to be that guy, but injuries derailed that idea. And your right...its far harder to field a punt than a kick (and far greater chance of turning it over, as the opposition is literally on top of you) Heck it's been since maybe Travis Benjamin since we've had a very good returner out there. I think DPJ and D'rnest are too important to put back there on returns, Not sure if we still have that guy from the Saints on our PS (I honestly can't recall his name) Felton really needs to clean it up...as he put the ball on the ground last year, and showing the same thus far. I'm in hopes he finds some success back there, as I'm sure were all sick of always being backed up in field position.

Would it be fair to say the same for JB? I mean, he is new to the team and Watson took almost all the first team reps in OTAs, mini camps, and even during a good portion of TC.

Look, I am not making excuses for him...........but how does Baker get a pass when JB doesn't?

Expounding on that..........I have not seen one comment on the drops by Schwartz and Bryant. I have a feeling that would have been hammered home had Baker been the one throwing the passes. JMO

we surely miss Jakeem Grant as the returner.

I’m also a little worried about our WRs/QB connections .. just not much hope to make plays there IMO

Yeah tru............this is a huge concern in my mind. JB probably isn't going to turn it over and take as many needless sacks as Baker, but the dude is limited. He missed a ton of throws today he should have completed that would have flipped the game. We can't afford silly mistakes.

If it were me............I would put DPJ back there if he can catch it. I have a feeling D'Ernest is on his way out. If not, and he is good at catching punts, put his ass back there. Felton misjudged the ball more than once. That's a no-no.

Absolutely. That is my hope (that JB gets better as he plays/practices more)

Actually, that would get me really annoyed with KS and his "starters not playing preseason" shtick.


You reminded me about something.... Schwartz caught a pass!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe I misread the intention of the "he is who he is" comment. All good.

You know.........when I was watching the game, I was thinking to add the Schwartz completion to my post game thoughts. That was a freaking huge play for us. Great play call. JB avoided pressure, rolled right. put some pressure on the D, and then threw to a wide open Schwartz. That was a big play.

I thought that was a big play. As was the screen pass to hunt on 3rd and long in the first half IIRC

Agreed. We also picked up a few key 3rd down plays on throws to DPJ.

And let's face it............that last pass to Cooper was huge. We usually don't complete those passes late in games.

My brain is foggy... was the Schwartz catch on the final drive?

I missed what happened, but what was the sideline interference on Carolina about?

Otherwise known as "The Jim Leonhard"

I think they were just complaining about a call and on the field

j/c:

I just read pages 16 and 17 of the Gameday thread. LMAO!!! Do y'all feel stupid?

They must have been REALLY complaining.. sheesh.

Thanks

id rather sign OBJ back than deal with Schwartz

Certain posters still bashing on Baker must not have watched the game I watched today. I saw baker come in with a team that was ranked 32nd in power rankings during March and May. I saw a team currently ranked at 24 come within a Cade York miracle of kicking our asses. And I know I was conflicted for this game because I wanted baker to shut down the BS bashing he has been taking from the DW fanboy's club, yet I also wanted this win! They will never shut up, but Baker did enough to shut them up. And now I can enjoy the rest of the year, at least until DW comes back, if he comes back. Then the excuses and lies will go into overtime again until all the fans are rooting for DW or run off the board by extremist posters who think they control everything or it's tearfully unfair to them. You know the type.

I'd rather hope Schwartz figures it out than bring in a has-been-diva who straight acted like a punk here and then called his daddy to have him throw the QB under the bus. We have too many losers around here now.

Some people talk about the game. Other people talk about other posters.

I'd love to have OBJ back. We know that Browns players are reaching out to him to bing him back. They wanted him over Baker when Baker did him dirty. However, I think OBJ is happy in LA and they really want to keep him. Not sure if anyone saw the recent exchange w/him and Kupp?

It's a shame we lost a great talent for a below average qb.

Yeah we haven't fielded a good returner in many years, and our special teams was really poor last year (bad punts, a lot of missed FGs, and pretty much zero return game, oh and botched returns ontop of that) I'm sure with all the drama that circulated last year, the special teams failure was overlooked...However Berry and the FO saw the disaster and drafted a kicker high, signed the premier return guy in FA, and bought us a new punter as well. I wouldn't mind having D'Ernest back there to return (I don't think he botched any returns last year) However he lacks some of the wiggle that Felton has, however Felton is a dangerous returner...to your own team lol just scares me too much, as he botches too many.

With Brissett, I never really cared for him. But I see the importance of having him with the suspension for Watson. There was a throw (I believe on 3rd down) where the ball traveled like it was tipped(however it wasn't) He just has a tendency to release some ducks at times, that brought back some Kizer moments. I do like his internal clock, he seems to know the pocket and has a stronger feel for pressure vs Baker. And with him being known to be protective of the ball, that will be huge for us. As we need to be positive in the TO margin for us to have a shot of getting in the playoffs.

Brissett should get a tad better once he gains more familiarity and timing in the offense. I saw Amari Cooper's stat line, (who had a brutal drop) but they will gain some chemistry through the weeks. As heck even stud WRS with QB familiarity laid some eggs (Mike Williams 11 yards today, Hunter Renfrow 21 yards) I'm in high hopes we will be 3-0 in a few weeks...Pitt always has our number, but those injuries thye suffered are big parts of their O and D. But one week at a time I suppose

OBJ was a good player back in the day.

I don't think Baker had a very good game. He started to finally wake up near the end, but too little too late.

Now he’s just average, at best

OBJ crapped on the team and Cleveland plenty the first time he was here. No need for another round.

But in terms of talent alone, I'd like for us to try to look at younger and less injured guys. OBJ has been injured for like half a decade almost nonstop, it feels like.

Good post, as always.

If you are right about D'Ernest being a reliable catcher of the football.......put him back there. We can't afford dumb turnovers. We have no wiggle room because of our qb situation for the first 11 games of the year. We are in the same position as we have been.......the rest of the team has to carry the qb. I just think JB will take fewer sacks and throw fewer picks than Baker. On the other hand, Baker is far more capable of making big plays. We will miss those.

Teams are going to double Cooper in man and roll coverages his way when in zone. Others need to take advantage of the attention given to him.

He looked exactly like the same player he was here.

D'ernest was a surprising inactive today.

Wonder if the coaching staff likes Ford better.

I think you listen to posters who defend Baker no matter what instead of Browns players in regards to the OBJ situation.

That's fine.........and I won't try to change your mind. Just know that I think that idea is preposterous. Players know more about their teammates than fans do.

I am wondering if they are preparing to trade him? What do you think?

That was my first thought, but why now. Should have just done it before the season started.

So I'm not really sure.

Me either. It was just odd that he was inactive today. It's almost as if they were making sure he didn't get hurt.

I could be way off on this line of thought.

But he purposely ran the wrong routes!

What's more likely...OBJ improvised based on the coverage and expected his QB to see the same thing he was OR Baker couldn't read coverages and would only throw to where OBJ was supposed to be frustrating his receiver?

Hell, Myles took OBJ's side. That has to count for something.

Chubb has spoiled us. He runs for a buck forty-one and his name barely gets mentioned tonight!

Chubb is so good.

We are fortunate he's a Brown.

Now that the Baker game is behind us, can we move on from him?

Three players we should keep until the end of their careers IMO: Chub, Hunt, and MG

Lol, those words are deeply inspirational.
Don’t condescend me.

I was agreeing with you.

Very good point, bro. Dude is a stud. Love his attitude. Love his ability. Love his toughness. Love his speed. Love his character.

I have some Browns jerseys that the kids have bought for me, but Chubb's is the only one I have purchased for myself.

I can let it go............but I won't if others insist that we should have kept him and continue to trash my team.

I didn’t read it that way, sorry man.

I truly meant what I said. He's my favorite player.

I also have a tendency to be sarcastic and deadpan, especially on here, so I get it.

I think with this game in the rear-view mirror, it should be that: behind us. We have a Browns season to worry about. Oh, we also have a piece of first place, Ben-gals!

I hope you are right, but I doubt it.

I just saw the Jacoby press conference and I was deeply moved. You can tell this man really cares about the game, being out there, it means the world to him. He wants to play the best he can as a Cleveland Brown.

He may not have the natural God given talent that some players have but he's going to do his best to out work them. I like that kind of player and want him on our team. And while his talent may not rise to the level of Deshaun Watson, his character far exceeds him.

Brissett > Baker

straight up backup QB on a new team won our first season opener since 2004. hate on JB's lack of talent all we want, but he did that.

what Baker did late in the game matters little, because it doesn't erase the the 1st 3 quarters of craptastic play, and he LOST.

We rushed for more than 200 yards, kudos to Chubb and our OL I winder if the NY Jets can stop us next week? .

That was great.

We had storms in the are yesterday. The game was hit with a direct TV rain pause just before the half which lasted maybe ten minutes, then again just before Carolina kicked the field goal to go ahead. My son was at the bar with me to watch the game. He could get the game on streaming radio but we couldn't hear anything due to the noise in the place so we decided to leave and listen to the rest of the game on his phone as we drove for home.

We got to listen to the radio call for our last drive. I am actually glad the TV's went out and got to listen to that in the car. Quite the exciting moment.

I haven't read everything yet, so maybe it has been brought up, but Felton as a punt returner sucks. I saw enough last year, and have seen enough this year.

The guy can't track a ball. If it is punted at him he is good enough but if he has to move more than a few feet to get under it, forget about it.

If there are guys on the roster who can field a punt then Priefer needs to be held accountable if he is deciding to play Felton in that role. If somebody else is, or there is nobody else who can catch a friggen punt, then they need to be held accountable.

We can't keep putting Felton back there, he is going to cost us a game or two if we keep doing that. I don't care if we have an offical "fair catcher" back there, we can't keep Felton in the position.

I agree w/Felton. Having him back there is a disaster waiting to happen … and it almost did happen yesterday.

Now that week 1 is over and the vet guarantee isn’t activated anymore, I’m really hoping to see us bring in Fuller or Beasley

And on more than the one he did muff. On the 1st punt he had to go to his knees and reach out to catch the ball and on another he was sprinting and diving for the ball.

The guy can't track a ball. He stutters around before he gets a bead on the ball. By then he isn't in a good position to make a secure catch. You have to be waiting under the ball to catch a punt. If you are still moving to get to the catch point on pretty much every punt, you can't do that job on my team.

j/c….

is it me or were we not lining up in 2 TE sets as much as we did last year?

I hope it's just the lack of pre-season work which is typical these days, making game 1 like the first real action any of these guys see, Brissett just sucks (18/34 147 1TD), we will not win against good teams with him.

KS, still bewilders me, having Brissett pass incomplete after incomplete, doing sweeps, -5 yard screens, just run the damn ball.

Brissett almost never even looked Coopers way on plays, he locked on to a target at snap and that was it.

Cade York, love this kid. My buddy was like "58 yards, he ain't gunna make that", I said "watch", and boom, he got it, with plenty to spare.

We still leave the middle of the field open too often, it's going to bite us often.

Exactly, there were signs before the muff that he had to be replaced. I’d rather have DPJ, and I’m not a fan of that idea either.

With your last statement, it’s so infuriating that so many of the big plays we give up are OUR OWN fault. It’s not like Carolina made great offensive plays … we just miscommunicated and gave them up.

I thought our coverage and defense was so good without those 3-4 plays or whatever

I couldn't watch the game, tried to stream it (thanks OldCold) but had nothing but buffering. Neighbors complained about internet yesterday so may have been something local. Did listen to it on radio and followed in the GameDay thread. So some of my observations may not be valid.

- Cade York. Draft pick paid off already. When he came out for the kick I did thought we had a chance. When was the last time I thought we had a chance to make a 58-yard field goal?
- We needed Brissett to do enough to get us the W. And he did. Just enough.
- Run game was stellar.
- DPJ came up big. Cooper drew some calls at key spots.
- I read afterwards that Cooper was open all game. Also sounded like Brissett missed other open guys. If that is all true, then the scheme and play-calling might not have been all that bad. Seems like we've had this discussion before. Yes, there were questionable play calls, KS seems to like to out-guess those trying to out-guess him. But when receivers are running open, that is a good thing.
- CMC was not productive. That is how you play Carolina.
- The D had a lot of good moments, but when there were breakdowns it was catastrophic. Two coverage breakdowns gave them 50% of their passing yards. Those two plays turned the game around. That needs to be cleaned up, and quickly. Flacco is a vet and will notice.
- I will gave Baker credit. It was a horrible start and he calmed down and started to make plays. And he led a 4th quarter go-ahead drive. That was one of the knocks on him.
- But Brissett led us to a 2-minute game-winning drive. What trumps a go-ahead drive? A game-winning drive.
- A W is a W. I will take it.

NFL Week 1 Game Recap: Cleveland Browns 26, Carolina Panthers 24

Jacoby Brissett and the Cleveland Browns spoiled Baker Mayfield's Carolina Panthers debut with a formidable running game and just enough passing offense to secure a last-second 26-24 win — capped by a Cade York 58-yard field goal.

Offensive spotlight: Baker Mayfield‘s revenge game didn't go exactly as planned, and the Panthers quarterback is set to earn a sub-55.0 passing grade after making two turnover-worthy plays and one big-time throw.

Defensive spotlight: Myles Garrett ensured rookie left tackle Ikem Ekwonu didn't enjoy his NFL debut. The pass-rusher racked up six pressures, including two sacks, and earned a 94.4 pass-rushing grade on first review.

Rookie spotlight: There's plenty of time for Ikem Ekwonu to develop, but his NFL debut was one to forget. He gave up four pressures on 33 pass-blocking snaps and didn't fare much better in the running game.

Offensive line spotlight: The Panthers' interior remained stout despite the tackles' struggles. The trio combined to allow only three hurries on 33 pass-blocking snaps apiece, headlined by a clean performance from center Pat Elflein.

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-week-1-game-recap-cleveland-browns-26-carolina-panthers-24

I thought the QB play, overall, was pretty bad. The only difference being Baker capitalizing on our communication issues.

Brissett was REALLY bad, IMO and doesn't offer much confidence moving forward the next 10 games. There are several reasons why but the thing that stood out to me was missing on two big play opportunities early in the game. It seemed liked after that Stefanski dialed down play calling to focus on more short and intermediate routes. That still didn't help as he was pretty inaccurate, especially on third down conversions (if I recall correctly). Baker probably had the worst first half I've seen from him since being in the league. He had little time to throw, seemed erratic and skittish (maybe overhyped to play his former team) and I think the Browns had a good plan of trying to neutralize CMC and making Baker throw. Baker NEEDS a relatively perfect pocket to consistently be successful and we saw vintage Baker when that is not the case. I think his passer rating for PPF is 55, which is ugly. The def. game plan worked flawlessly until the Delpit communication problem in the first half and the Newsome 'mistake' in the second. That boosted Baker's confidence and gave him an shot to win the game. Hell, even that fumbled snap from Baker had allowed CMC to get a 20-30 yard gain on a freak play....And it was freak plays or gross miscommunication by us that let Carolina stay in the game. I hope we shore up some of the defensive issues because they are a really good starting unit.

-- I though James Hudson held his own out there yesterday.
-- The DL played well and was pleasantly surprised by the interior play as well.
-- The OL looked great
-- Cade York....I'm buying your jersey.

You could watch Carolina the next 16 games and you’ll be hard pressed to see a team bottle up CMC as well as we did. I think a lot of it had to do with JOK, but I could be wrong

It could have been but the game flow might have been a factor too. I mean, being down 20-7 with roughly a half to go can sometimes dictate play calling. That said, I was shaking my head wondering why CMC's name wasn't being called as much as I thought it would in the first few opening series.

Side note: I could be wrong but CMC's opportunities to make plays (both rushing and passing) was 14. That needs to increase IMO for the Panthers to be successful. Maybe they were easing him in after two years of injuries but if his passing targets and rushes stay at that level, I think they will have a long year. He is their best offensive weapon.

No doubt about it. They desperately need to get him involved (along with Moore). To not have those two guys combine for 30 touches is a recipe for them to lose.

They came out throwing. Baker kept screwing things up and I was thanking our lucky stars they were trying to have Baker carry them rather than McCaffrey. To be fair, our D was most likely geared to stop McCaffrey and dare Baker to beat us, but still..........I know we involved Chubb and Hunt a lot more than they did McCaffrey.

A few things that stood out to me.

Jacoby was frustrating to watch. Obviously there were some plays there that needed to be made. However, Jacoby is a backup for the reasons he demonstrated. However, he didn't turn it over. He made some critical third down throws. In the fourth quarter 7 for 10. When it really counted and the game was on the line. He did not panic. He got us in position to win and we did.

Cade for 14. Wow. Talk about special teams. Look around at the other games and let's talk kickers. Game on the line 58 yarder. GOOD.

Special thanks goes out to DPJ made enormous contested catches in the clutch. Myles and Clowney were both really good. Surprise DT was not a issue.

Run the ball. The Panthers had no answer. Shout out to the blocking of Hunt and Njoku. Both made some great blocks.
Chubb is just a man. Glad he is on our team.

Defense. We were lights out till 6 minutes left. McCaffrey got nothing till he picked up a fumble. We batted balls from Baker. Got sacks. Got the pick. Shut down their run game. Then fell apart with blown coverages. That can not happen. It has to stop.

IMO Stefanski called a great game. Loved the game plan and use of fullback look. There were some great blocks by Hunt and Njoku. OL played a great game. Hudson played very well. The call on Teller was horrible.

This was a big win. It was a dominate win until the secondary lost focus.

I hope some of the opening day jitters go away and Jacoby will make some of the easy throws.

Foundation football. Play good defense. Don't turn it over. Play to your strength in our case run the ball. Get turnovers. Win time of posession stay ahead of the chains. Make the kicks. Mission accomplished.

All good points. That fumble/run play by CMC was such a lucky play and a momentum swing of sorts. I thought we had the clamps on them until then.

Delpit needs to be more consistent in coverage. He KILLS us at times (and did last year) and is a liability when he has his eyes in the backfield

Overall Brissett played well. We need to understand that well for him isn't well for a solid starting QB. Well for Brissett is fair for a starting type QB. We need to temper out expectations as to what we think the guy can and can not do as a QB.

What we saw is pretty much what we will get. The plan is to run the ball, throw the ball in the short to intermediate range, and lean on the D. If the D allows the other team to score a lot I don't see much ability to get in to high scoring shootouts.

If Brissett playes well, I might expect some improvement as the teams cohesion starts to improve.

I have Get Up on the tv and they haven't even mentioned our game. They were dogging kickers and no mention of York's great day. I guarantee our game would have been highlighted had Carolina won the game due to the Baker/Watson thing.

No doubt about it. I get tired of the media choosing their narratives. Had Baker prevailed it would have been a huge story

What are we going to say about him that hasn't already been said? Spoiled, indeed.

I had a really hard time keying in on individual positions... but my limited view and my listening to the play-by-play told me our run defense actually did a pretty good job. I don't have Gamepass anymore so I'm hoping to catch something more than just highlights on Youtube, but can folks chime in on the play of our front, specifically the DTs? They were a huge ? throughout the preseason and coming into this game.

I'm sure you're right or very close - I had to take the dog to the vets this morning and was listening to local CLT radio there and back, 21 pass plays and 4 run plays in the first half with rookie LT who is supposed to be below average pass blocker and an excellent run blocker, so they were not happy. It was almost like they were Baker fanboys making excuses for Baker ! Bottom line is that without doubt the stat on their offense is and needs to be McCaffrey, it'll be interesting to see how they do against defenses other than the Browns which I really think is going to be elite.

Local radio hosts also pointed out that - the roughing the passing calls (against CLE at the end of 2nd half - and against CLT at the end of the game) were both bogus, and that the fake spike, followed by a spike by Brissett at the end of the game is intentional grounding and the Refs didn't know the rule book.

I thought they did a pretty good job. We were really trying to clog the middle to stop the run so it was hard to get a clear view on individual players in the middle of the pile. I think we got a little tired later in the game. Of course, Carolina's guys got very tired too. It was very muggy.

I just checked PFF again for grades. Not available yet. All they have up are the grades from Thursday night's games. I'll post them as soon as I see them.

I respect your opinion. Dude is a talent, but I'm of the opinion that his best days are behind him. Not to say he shouldn't be on an NFL roster (especially ours right now), just he's somewhere on the other side of that slope. His injuries are picking up in terms of frequency and severity.

But my opinions are based on what was reported about OBJ. I've been fairly consistent in how I feel about his exit from here. He owns his part of the dramatic exit, and that stretches all the way back to pretty much the day he got here when it was reported he wanted out. Part of how all that went down is on Baker, but the part that's on OBJ is the reason I wouldn't want to run it back with him. I get players want him back... he's a popular guy in the locker room. But I don't think he's the most compatible with 'ski and his O (reference the analysis done on 'ski's time in Minny and Diggs getting out).

I don't want to talk about OBJ - but there are certain facts that are out there that continually get "misrepresented" and are worth noting:

- Glazer quoted OBJ as never wanted to be in CLE. Even before he arrived. Maybe if that was the only instance you could ignore it - but it was a constant theme.
- He wanted to be traded every off season he was with the Browns. Even after a playoff appearance and win.
- He was telling opponents to come get him.
- He told Von Miller this last offseason to stay the hell away from CLE.
- He spent an entire season not knowing where to line up on multiple plays every game.
- It was widely reported after the video that was released "by his dad" - OBJ was freelancing and not running the right routes.
- The closest thing we have to a 'Browns Insider' is GM - and he verified OBJ was running wrong routes.

On the flip side: He had a lot more love from players than BM - he has players wanting him back. He played well for the Rams - and he might have been the MVP of the Super Bowl. But for the regular season his targets, catches and yards per game as a foil to Cupp were all about the same as they were as the #1 for the Browns.

He's an aging Diva who was once truly elite and might win over his team mates with a big personality or whatever - but with two serious injuries and his history in CLE: Hell No. I think the way Watson can extend plays, and the way OBJ freelances, I could see that marriage working but I would still not want him back.

We disagree on OBJ, but that's fine. I think he wants to stay in LA anyway.

Hope the dog is ok!

j/c…

This might end up confirming the Browns comments about Elliot's preseason and what they expect. This is a great first sign and hope to see more of it.

I'll add that bryan looked good. He got pressure several times and seemed to hold the point of attack in the run game.

Not to mention Bryan’s flag was crap. People want to talk about the roughing the passer call on Brissett, but that one was just as egregious … if not more so

Very encouraging for Elliott.

She is fine, yearly vaccinations and check up. Thanks !

Very encouraging for Elliot - resonates with the news out of camp. The one area of caution - nearly everyone on the Panthers line is new and they are definitely a work in progress.

Didnt realize Elliott had played that well. Good sign for us. It actually makes sense that our DL played stout altogether with the lack of efficiency from CMC

I'm impressed with the D, except for the SEVERAL TD breakdowns....JFYI, ESPN put up QB ratings for week 1, guess where JB and BM are- JB just AHEAD of BM....I love JB's want to, AND he doesn't throw interceptions.....he'll hit more targets with work.....Go Browns!!

I thought the RTP call against Carolina was pretty obvious. Helmet to helmet. But yes, the one against the Browns was pretty bad.

I'm a little surprised about the pass rush aspect because I thought I saw Bryan Tioga or whatever his name is in the backfield more than Elliott, but that's great news.

Togia (sp?) was disruptive a few times, you’re right. The DL was a strength for us yesterday. In fact, the entire defense was very good if you take away breakdowns. The good news is those can be fixed, whereas talent can’t

Maybe he will.

He has been around enough coaching by this point that his accuracy might be as good as it get's. I think our QB coach is good, but I don't think he has a bag of magic dust that other coaches don't have.

If anything can be improved with time is the timing. That might lead to more competitions.

Funny that they do not mention the two sacks Ekwonu also gave up.

The Browns vs the world...

I thought both RTP calls were terrible. On the CAR penalty, I was convinced that the refs were going to call 'holding' on Wills...not because he was holding mind you...but he was getting blown up so bad that the DE was almost falling on top of him. That just looked odd as hell. I've seen us get BS calls like that before.

j/c...

That's freaking awesome!

Agreed. Both bad calls.

A worse call that they are mad about here on the radio in CLT is the fake spike, spike - which is 100% a penalty and not subjective, just a case of the Refs not knowing the rules. Even the announcers knew the rules on the broadcast I watched! We dodged a bullet for sure.

I agree..

j/c:

Finally you posted the truth about it. I was wondering how long it would take.

York bailed out the Browns. Having a great kicker is important.

I thought Baker played yesterday just like the Baker we saw for 4 seasons. He made some big plays, made some bad plays. 1 TD, 1 INT, and a rushing TD. Right at 60% completion%, for 235 yards. Was he better than Brissett yes, except Brissett never turned the ball over. I think Baker is and always will be a mediocre QB. Maybe 16th best in the league. Problem is that is 3rd or 4th best in our division. His Browns teams would have always hovered around 8 to 11 wins depending on how well the defense and running game played. I think the Browns front office decided he was not the QB that could take a franchise to the Super Bowl and the emergence of Joe Burrow pointed that out to them clearly. That is why they went all in on Watson and did not care the price. They saw their fortunes tied to a mediocre QB and did what ever they had to to get a franchise QB. I think many Browns fans watching him yesterday in an opposing teams jersey took off their rose colored glasses when he was our QB and saw what our FO saw.

For truth - York and the Refs bailed us out - which I am very happy for. Baker played badly - we'll see how things develop against lesser defenses and more time in the system. I know the "off the leash" was a popular topic in tweets as if it meant something, but if the best DE in the NFL or our D in general need that to play up then we are in trouble.

Burns went helmet to helmet with Brissett. That's a pretty easy call, even though the commentators mentioned it as a bad call. Even so, the DB leveled our WR, I believe Peoples-Jones, when he had clearly seen the ball hit the ground with plenty of time to pull up and then proceeded to level him. That should have been called either way as well.

Only nobody actually did that while you continue to lie about it. It's about a sexual predator being signed to lead this team for then next five years.

j/c...

Wondering why a poster who said he isn't rooting for the Browns, and did not watch the game is commenting on this thread? My guess he is probably trashing posters who are Browns fans and making excuses as to why we won.

And if it weren't for the fact that my Aunt Jenny doesn't have a penis she would be my uncle.

And we all keep wondering why you continue to lie on the board. Ah, so many questions yet so few answers.

Obviously you lack the ability to differentiate between "rooting" for a team and being a "fan/fanatic" of a team. But then you love to make things up and lie so I shouldn't be surprised.

There are several of these but just for some more context.

j/c:

Can't say much that hasn't been said.

But I hope as the season goes on, the TEs might be become more of an option for Brissett. I understand why Njoku was helping out with the blocking yesterday because we were a man down on the OL and that technically Bryant had 4 targets, but if Brissett can find one of those big guys he's comfortable with on a consistent basis moving forward, I think either can be reliable, mid to long yards chain mover. As the play book opens up, I suspect this might happen.

What could Jakeem Grant have brought to the game? I would've liked to have found out.

One win in the bank. No complaints.

Lol

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is that once again, Stefanski did a great job of managing the clock.

He's very good at that for sure.

Hate the rule, not the call.

Stefanski’s best attribute is his game management especially at the end of the game. It oftentimes starts 1-2 drives before the final one

This is not a bad call as some suggested. It is clearly the crown of his helmet to his helmet. It doesn’t even have to be the crown according to the rules.

On a broadcast they were focused on the defenders hand as they thought that was how contact was made to the head. They definitely didn't see/consider the helmet before moving on to the next play.

Terry McAuley, the former NFL official, said the roughing the passer call on JB was the right call.

Did Terry say anything about the fake spike, spike which was the play before the FG attempt? The penalty that the refs didn't know the rules for?

Myles Garrett earns the highest PFF grade of any player in Week 1


Jeff Risdon
September 12, 2022 1:12 pm ET

Myles Garrett had himself quite a Sunday afternoon in Charlotte. The Browns defensive end was all over the stat sheet against the Panthers in Cleveland’s thrilling win:

Two sacks, four tackles, three TFLs, one forced fumble, one pass defender, six QB hurries of former teammate Baker Mayfield.



Garrett’s impact on the game was undeniable. The film grade reinforces just how awesome Garrett was against the Panthers. No. 95 registered the single highest overall game grade of any NFL player in Week 1 (pending Monday Night Football) from Pro Football Focus.

PFF graded Garrett with a 94.4 grade for the game. That tops veteran EDGE Jerry Hughes, who logged an impressive 93.6 game grade in his debut with the Houston Texans. Much of Garrett’s success came at the expense of the Panthers’ first-round rookie tackle, Ikem Ekwonu, who was on the hook for both of Garrett’s sacks. The overall grade would have been even higher if not for a charted missed tackle on Garrett.

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2022/09/12/myles-garrett-earns-highest-pff-grade-week-1/

''We determined that stepping back does not disqualify the quarterback from spiking the ball, and we allowed him to do that by rule,'' referee Brad Rogers said in a pool report.

That was definitely intentional grounding. You can’t fake a spike and then spike it.

I don't think these two things have been mentioned.

1. Did anyone else notice that we used Chubb and Hunt together a lot yesterday?

2. Did anyone else notice that we brought Dunn in on several plays and went w/6 offensive linemen?

we definitely got away with that one for sure.

This is interesting. We liked to do this a lot with Hubbard (back when he was healthy).

Yes to number one. I believe Stefanski said we might see even more of that

Yes to two as well. I didn’t realize that he did it 11 times

We are still wildly in credit with NFL officiating and we are due a lot more of these !

He was open. LOL

York had more than the 10 extra penalty yards on that kick, lol. There were more than 10 seconds on the clock, so even with the runoff we would have been able to run the play.

I did mentioned the use of the fullback look by Hunt and Njoku.

I thought going in that there would be use of both Hunt and Chubb together. The Panthers had no answer for the Browns running attack.

On one play I saw Wills on the right side in a overload look.

I thought the game plan was really good.

What upset me was the game was in the bag with 6 minutes left. We kicked off. Make them earn a score and use clock. We gave up a huge play and let them back in the game.

There has been a pattern with the Browns of defensive let downs with the lead. It is a lack of focus and has to be corrected.

On the play where Baker ran up the middle. I hate that alignment. Zero man over the center. Split four with the middle open. Once the secondary turned in coverage the middle was wide open. Baker had a free lane up the middle. I could see all before the snap.

Up to the last six minutes the defense was really good. We have to correct those late errors in communication.

A common theme when Stefanski is calling plays.

I noticed a handful of clips with Cooper breaking open too. That’s gotta be aggravating for the coaches lol

j/c...

I noticed #1. Last year, I was asking why we didn't feature both in the backfield more often. With both RB's a threat to take any run to the house, and 24 showing that he could handle a pass (albeit on a lesser level than 27), I couldn't understand why we saw so little of a 2-back look.

I did not notice #2 at all. I'm thinking that 6 OL can help on run plays v. a stacked box. Is that how the 6th man was used? Like I said, this was totally off my radar.

I think a lot of it has to do with our love of TEs on the field and our preference to rest one of them at all times. I have a feeling our analytics dept really stresses having their legs fresh as possible for the end of games and as the season progresses

Not until a 2nd look. I liked it.

I have forever been saying that if you want extra blocking, a Olineman is better than a TE and somewhere on the team at least one of those Olineman can catch well enough to go out for a short pass. O-linemen aren't total clods who can't catch a ball tossed their way.

j/c

just want to add one thing at the moment.

- Stefanski called a great game. The first two drives should've been TDs or at least points with the pass to Cooper on the first drive and Hunt running down the sideline on the second drive. I loved the misdirections with Schwartz to give the D a different look and also to attack the boundaries.

Keeping the offense on the field for 4th down with 25 seconds left in the second quarter, CAR called one of their two timeouts, then we kicked the field goal. This won't show up on the stat sheet, in reality it didn't affect the score of the game. But a couple thoughts, I looked at this as Stef saying I am in control this game how are you going to react to what I am showing? If Rhule bluffs, they lose a time out. If he calls my bluff, fine I'll call the time out and bring out the field goal team. Like I said, it ended up not meaning much and Carolina knelt it on the next possession. But it did make Rhule have to make a quick decision. I thought it was it was a smart and showed Stef was thinking a couple steps ahead. I'm pulling out a "what if". What if Car did run a play and went for a big gain, well they burned one of their timeouts on reacting to Stef's chess move.

Stefanski likes go for it on 4th quite often. Some disagree (scenario depending) and that's fine, doesn't mean you are right or wrong. That's his Mo, I'm good with it.

Not sure re where to put this question. I only heard Jimmie d.’s call of Cade’s game winner and it sounded like Nathan segura was in the booth. Is he our #2 guy this year? No former player? Did they announce this in Cleveland??

It was announced early.

Has Zegura done a nice job so far? I haven’t listened to it yet

I did not notice #2 at all. I'm thinking that 6 OL can help on run plays v. a stacked box. Is that how the 6th man was used? Like I said, this was totally off my radar.

Yeah, we lined him on both sides, but I primarily saw him on the right side and then we ran that way w/a few play action passes mixed in.

Stefanski has an unfair rep on this board. Dude has an excellent scheme, is a good play caller, and manages the clock brilliantly.

Very good points. Stefanski manages the clock well across the game and not just the end of games. Also, analytics tell us going for it on 4th down is often the correct move. Those who dismiss analytics are stuck in the stone age.

I think Stefanski won't be totally respected on this board until his offense is seen with a really good QB. Hopefully, later this season.

I have no problem going for it on 4th downs when - as a team - you are successful at a minimum percentage rate as that of the analytics that drive the narrative that it's the right call. If your team consistently does not make the 4th down conversion at the required success rate - then the narrative that it's the right call falls apart. We're 0-1 this year - let's keep track of the numbers.

Last year Stefanski led the NFL at one point in going for it in situations where statistics suggest it was the right call - but the results were below average, meaning the execution/result didn't align with the theory. I think that's why you see a few posters wanting KS to dial back on the 4th down attempts. Again - great if you convert at league average. Not if you don't.

There are posters on this board who will never give him credit, but you bring up a good point. Stefanski has worked w/inferior qbs here in Cleveland. Baker, Keenum, Mullen, and Brissett. I think he got the most out of Baker in his first year here after the latter was terrible the year before. I am excited to see what Stefanski can do w/a very good qb and we should have that w/Watson next year.

I'll give Ski credit when his teams look and perform like a perennial playoff team with the talent they have on the roster...when they can line up and get the play off without getting penalized and/or burning a timeout...when they STOP committing procedure penalties when kicking off...when they STOP with the drive-killing procedure penalties on offense...and when the D doesn't figure out a way to regularly let their opponent back into a game. Until then, I'll be critical.

Dig up Otto...bring back Bernie...draft Jesus Christ himself at QB...I don't care. Just stop looking like a group of fools not ready for the game.

Just as we suspected, Brissett is just barely a downgrade from Baker

You know I am a believer in analytics. I also believe the O isn't going to be explosive so points are going to be a premium. I expect a lot of games like Sundays game that are going to be close.

I am not going to say we shouldn't go for it some of the time, but I hope we opt to put up 3 just a little bit more as compared to last year.

I certainly hope you are correct.

I'm certain there is no correlation between MGs banner day and Baker's bad day on Sunday. And if Baker is truly 'that bad', the glaring revelation should be that the browns come within a miracle FG of losing to the 28th ranked QB on a crap team, not that JB is barely worse. I'm sure the rah-rah baker haters club will disagree, but living in reality, it will take a miracle to even sniff the playoffs with JB under center for the next 10 games. He didn't have the Browns DL in his face all day.

I see. Well, if you are going to keep track…we completed a 4th down with a QB sneak up the middle (we were 1 for 2). Analytics so far is showing you are 0 for 1 in keeping 4th down stats. (I’m messing with you)


As I said, I’m not saying anyone is right/wrong with their thought/feelings on it.

I won’t speak for last year, because that opens up a whole new conversation.

I guess what I am saying - best said by Churchill (and I am going from memory):

No matter how beautiful the plan (or analytics) sometimes you have to look at the results.

Why am I not surprised to see someone try and make an overall judgement based on one game? Well, because that's just who some people are. Let me know how that's working for you after 11 games.

Browns’ defensive snap counts, stats, and notes: Week 1

Myles Garrett dominated in Week 1.

By Chris Pokorny@DawgsByNature Sep 13, 2022, 1:11pm EDT 0 Comments / 0 New


Defensive Line

Pos Player Plays % Stats
DL Myles Garrett 45 85% 4 tackles (4 combined). 2 sacks, 3 TFL, 2 QH, 1 pass defended, 1 FF.
DL Jadeveon Clowney 44 83% 3 assists (3 combined). 0.5 sack, 1 QH, 2 passes defended.
DL Taven Bryan 44 83% 1 tackle (1 combined).
DL Jordan Elliott 41 77% 1 assist (1 combined).
DL Alex Wright 17 32% 2 tackles (2 combined). 1 pass defended.
DL Tommy Togiai 8 15% 1 assist (1 combined). 1 QH.
DL Isaac Rochell 6 11% No stats registered.
DL Perrion Winfrey 5 9% 1 pass defended.

How great is it to have Myles Garrett? He was PFF’s top-graded player in the entire NFL for Week 1 (94.4), going up against a rookie left tackle. He had back-to-back sacks during one stretch of the game, forcing a fumble on one of those sacks that he nearly recovered. Garrett also had one pass defended.
Jadeveon Clowney was busy batting passes down all of training camp, and that skill came in handy right away against Baker Mayfield. He knocked one pass down on the first drive, and one later on, in addition to assisting on a sack. Clowney was the Browns’ third-ranked defender with a grade of 76.3, per PFF.
From a reps standpoint, Taven Bryan and Jordan Elliott dominated the number of snaps at defensive tackle. I don’t get why the Panthers didn’t try to run it right at them more, but whatever. Bryan was flagged for roughing the passer on a call I didn’t particularly agree with.

Linebacker

Pos Player Plays % Stats
LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah 45 85% 3 tackles, 2 assists (5 combined). 1 TFL.
LB Anthony Walker 36 68% 2 tackles, 1 assist (3 combined). 1 TFL.
LB Jacob Phillips 20 38% 1 tackle, 2 assists (3 combined).
LB Sione Takitaki 10 19% 1 tackle (1 combined).

Even though I didn’t see Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah make a play that I can particularly remember, PFF graded him as the team’s second-best defender (78.3), which was the 7th-highest grade at his position in Week 1.
Anthony Walker was the only other linebacker who played significant reps, much like last season where the Browns opt for the nickel more.

Cornerback

Pos Player Plays % Stats
CB Greg Newsome 48 91% 1 tackle, 1 assist (2 combined).
CB Denzel Ward 45 85% 1 assist (1 combined). 1 pass defended.
CB Martin Emerson 42 79% 4 tackles, 1 assist (5 combined).

I don’t think we can complain about the Browns’ cornerbacks this week. Both defensive breakdowns appeared to be communication issues from the safety position. Denzel Ward didn’t seem to be targeted, and Martin Emerson played well in his first NFL game.

Safety

Pos Player Plays % Stats
S Grant Delpit 53 100% 2 tackles, 1 assist (3 combined). 1 INT, 1 pass defended.
S John Johnson 52 98% 4 tackles, 3 assists (7 combined). 0.5 sack, 1 QH.
S Ronnie Harrison 22 42% 1 tackle, 1 assist (2 combined). 0.5 sack, 1 QH.

Grant Delpit made a diving interception in the first half. However, it seemed like he was responsible for the first blown coverage of tight end Ian Thomas that went for a 50-yard play in the second quarter.

It wasn’t the best second half for John Johnson, who abandon his role for safety help, leading to a 75-yard touchdown pass, and was also flagged for a horse collar tackle that helped set up what could have been the Panthers’ game-winning field goal.

https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2022/9/13/23351228/browns-defensive-snap-counts-stats-and-notes-week-1

Wyatt was such a steal.

Made up for whiffing on Corbett.

Lol. The fabulous Baker boys would have been all over it if BM played well and won.

I’m not really judging Baker on one game, rather on 4 years and 1 game.

I am judging Brissett on one game, though. So maybe he’ll improve.

This isn't all that important, but I have a stats question that I haven't noticed anyone else ask.

I was looking over ESPN's box score from Sunday's game and it showed McCaffery's longest run as 9 yards. I know he picked up the Baker fumble and rambled about 28 yards. I assume from the box score this is not considered rushing yards, but I can't find it as return yards or anywhere else.

Any stat guys know how this is classified? Does it count towards the Panthers yardage total?

That is a great question. I am not sure about this, but I think in this case, the yardage is counted as "loose-ball yardage" and is not included in individual stats, but instead in team stats.

So that play 28 yds.+ the 75 yd. TD pass along with another Pass of say 40 yds. = 143 yds. of their 261 Total Yds. for the day ... Not Bad Defense Browns

You could tell that game meant a lot to the team. It had to be a great feeling after all the controversy that has enveloped the team during the off-season. I think I am rooting for them harder than ever. I've never been much of a front-runner.

I thought it might be something like, maybe like a team rebound or loose ball in basketball.

Hopefully the Baker stuff is behind us now, he helped to turn this ship in the right direction, so I give him credit for that, but this ship has a new captain now and it's time to sail away from Baker and put him and all his controversy behind us ...

That is a good comparison. I like it.

To piggyback off of this, Myles touched Baker down behind the line of scrimmage after Baker fumbled the snap and fell on the ball. I thought for sure that was a sack and would have given Myles three on the day. But he's only getting credited for the two in the third quarter. I'm guessing the explanation is Baker turned himself into a runner by falling on the ball.

The reason no rushing yards were credited to CMC was because the play was officially ruled a fumble by the center and ruled an aborted play by Mayfield. On aborted plays no yards are credited for advancing the ball.

3. Aborted Plays

An aborted play is a play from scrimmage during which there is neither a pass nor a kick,
which falls into one of the following categories:

A. The ball is clearly centered improperly, meaning that the ball does not reach the intended
receiver of the snap within the frame of his body or arm-span;

B. The intended ball-handler fumbles the snap from center

In each of these cases, charge a rush for 0 yards.

https://www.nflgsis.com/gsis/documentation/stadiumguides/guide_for_statisticians.pdf

https://www.nfl.com/games/browns-at-panthers-2022-reg-1?active-tab=watch

Same as my post to FORT. If you're talking about the play on the Panthers second possession, it was officially ruled an aborted play by Mayfield and charged as a rush for no gain. Garrett got credit for the tackle.

https://www.nfl.com/games/browns-at-panthers-2022-reg-1?active-tab=watch

JC...

As far as PFF scores are concerned, did all the poor snaps between Baker and their C Pat Elflein not affect their PFF score? I've watched a lot of football, and that had to be up there, in regards to horrible snaps and exchanges between the two....I know losing Bradley Bozeman hurt them, but Elflein was snapping the ball really low or high all game, which thankfully, ruined most plays.

Thanks for the explanation, Milk.

I was not aware of any statistical rules for "Aborted Plays".

Learned something new -- thanks to you.

It's really odd that a poster who did not watch the game and has said that he is no longer rooting for the team has so many posts in a Post Game thread. The definition of a troll.

A poster who has that poster blocked taking cheap shots at him while trying to label someone else a troll. The very definition of a troll.

That makes we wonder if the NFL uses something akin to an official scorer in baseball.

Thanks Milk. I am surprised I could watch the NFL for 50+ years and never hear that term before. I must have been sleeping. Do you know if those 28 yarss are included in the Panthers' total yards? I assume not, by your description.

The yardage is not included in the team total yardage.

Don't know how much I can get on here but here goes:

Even without Baker the Browns are the Browns

Maybe statistically Ski called a good game, but there is still no rhythm or momentum. I know JB wasn't what you'd want, but there's no reason Ski couldn't have dialed up a 300yrd rushing day.

I've been critical of Myles in that yes, he gets great sack numbers, but its not that often he gets a sack when you really need him to. For a guy who was supposed to decimate Baker he certainly didn't close out the game.

A huge difference in the offensive play calling vs. last year is that Ski isn't rotating in literally 11 different pass catchers. There was consistency at least in that regard. There was never any consistency or continuity in that regard last year yet everyone thought Baker should have had perfect timing and connection with 11 different players

Carolina had a rough start and didn't know how to respond but Baker kept his cool and they started to figure it out. I think his receivers started to come alive after they saw he wasn't giving up.

I don't know what it is about this defense that has such a hard time closing out games.

Its a W... I don't know how encouraging it is considering it needed a statistical anomaly of a 58 yrd FG from a rookie (I swear it was good for 65 easy..)

I did not know that there could be aborted plays for 0 yards.
Of course the only way to make aborted plays, if they may = 0 yards, make sense is to classify aborted plays as technicaly "special teams" plays.
( I always kind of considered any fumble or interception play, or a muffed return, literaly any play with a live ball as falling into the category of special teams anyway.)
( Because, Marty Schottenheimer famously often professes, there are 3 elements to a game, Offense, Defense, and Special teams, and the team that wins 2 usually wins the game.)

Hey, Marty Schottenheimer won More Division titles, and more big game regular season matchups than any other coach to ever live. I think.

Lol classic

OMG LMAO Eve!