Whatever good feelings Cleveland Browns fans had coming off of last week with the big performance from Jameis Winston seem to have gone by the wayside going into the Browns’ bye week. The Los Angeles Chargers and former Buckeye, J.K. Dobbins, came to Cleveland and dominated the home team by a 27-10 score. The Browns head into the bye with a 2-7 record and their shot to return to the playoffs is all but extinct.
So what happened today?
What changed in the matter of seven days that took the high hopes of a victory to the crushing defeat at the hands of Jim Harbaugh, Dobbins and the former San Diego Superchargers? Well, the old Jameis Winston came out as he threw three interceptions and only a single touchdown and had a minuscule 50.5% completion percentage. As a team, the Browns ran for just 79 yards on 24 carries, an average of 3.3 yards per carry. A few bright spots for the offense was Cedric Tillman and Jerry Jeudy both having over 70 receiving yards and averaged over 10 yards per reception.
Winston’s turnovers put the defense into some tough spots to overcome, despite compiling six sacks, three from Myles Garrett. Jim Schwartz’s Defense was not able to force a turnover and J.K. Dobbins in a return to the Buckeye State ran 14 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns against the defense.
So what is wrong with he Browns?
Kevin Stefanski has given up the play-calling duties and despite the negativity that he has faced with his play-calling, the Ken Dorsey tendencies started to show. As CBS pointed out during the game, and something that any Bills fan will tell you, Dorsey can get pass-happy with his offense. The Browns have arguably the best running back in the NFL with Nick Chubb getting the ball just 15 times for 39 yards.
The offensive line issues are beginning to iron themselves out, but this is the NFL and teams will get pressure on the QB no matter how good the line plays. Tuli Tuipulotu had 2.5 sacks and the Chargers as a whole had six sacks to go along with the three picks of Winston. The loss of Bill Callahan to the Titans was a monster step back for a line that was once considered the best in the league.
To me, there are several glaring issues that have come to light over this season and that starts with the O-line play. Bill Callahan was the GOAT of offensive line coaches, in my opinion and losing him has set this line back several steps. No one can blame him for leaving, he had the opportunity to coach under his son in Tennessee and there are certainly no hard feelings there. Scott Peters was the obvious choice for Callahan’s replacement. The assistant offensive line coach under Callahan was a player favorite and his teaching technique was second to only his boss.
Despite this, Andy Dickerson was named Callahan’s replacement and he sure has not lived up to the giant shoes Callahan has set in Cleveland. Dickerson came from the Seattle Seahawks who coached their offensive line the last two seasons. In 2022, the Seahawks were 17th in rushing and last season regressed to 28th in the NFL.
Another glaring issue and this is just my opinion, is the starters not playing in the preseason which has destroyed any ability to establish coherence amongst the team. We have heard time and time again about how Jim Schwartz uses the preseason to determine the style of defense his personnel fit best. In order to do this, you need your starters to play in these games, even if it is just for a series or a quarter, to see how the installation of the defensive scheme is going to play. Then the offense, Watson not playing with his receivers in these games showed early with the lack of connections he has had with them. That’s not to say the drops weren’t killing the drives, but it was clear that this team had no connection between the QB and everyone else.
Finally, let’s just address the biggest issue of all. Deshaun Watson. Regardless of how he has played, this trade and contract gutted the team of being able to draft first-round talent and build for this year and beyond. The Texans have hit home runs with Stroud, Will Anderson Jr., Kamari Lassiter and other picks thanks to the Browns giving them these picks that they used to shape their roster.
Kevin Stefanski needs to take this bye week and really look at all aspects of this team and ways they can improve. At the end of the day, he is the head coach and it is on him to evaluate his coaches and his players and make the necessary changes needed to bring the Browns back to winning ball games. It’s too late for Andrew Berry to go out and make trades to bring in talent to help this team, you’re just spinning your tires in the mud if you do that. It’s evaluation time for this team, the playoffs are out of the question and as much as it hurts Cleveland fans to hear this, there is always next year.
The post Another Defeat For The Browns, What Is Wrong With This Team? appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk.