Browns Get Beat Up by St Louis, 33-14

      The Browns disappointed the home crowd, losing to the Rams 33 to 14.  They were totally outclassed by the up-and-coming Rams on both sides of the ball. The Rams defense pushed the Browns around on the line of scrimmage and did whatever they pleased on offense.  

     Brian Hoyer had a touchdown, an interception and a fumble.   He was not very good, but significantly improved over his antichrist-like performances of the first two exhibition games.  Johnny Manziel likewise was much better in this game than the previous two,  rushing for another score.  

http://scout.imgix.net/137/1371813.jpg?w=600&h=360&mode=crop&scale=both
Brian Hoyer was much better than in the first two games, but still underachieved.  

     The running game was pathetically weak, gaining a grand total of 32 yards for the game. That is awful.   Nobody looked good, and the offensive line forgot how to block.  In particular I was disappointed  by hotshot rookie Terrance West.  Instead of the one-cut style that the Shanahan offense is famous for, West likes to tiptoe up to the line, and then start shifting left and right, almost like he is waiting for someone to tackle him. That style doesn't seem to work.  Can Shanahan get him fixed in time for the September 7 opener?    Likewise Tate was terrible, as the entire team averaged 2.1 yards per carry.  Can we have Willis McGahee back?  He at least rushed for 2.7 yards per carry last year.   The presence of a fullback plus blocking tight end Jim Dray was supposed to help the running game, but it was not evidenced today.   If there is a positive note, it would be the play of rookie Joel Bitonio, who continues to be rock solid at left guard.  Hint:  let's run left this year.  

    The Browns defense was equally terrible, being unable to stop the Rams on third down, and giving up nearly 500 yards of total offense, even though star QB Sam Bradford had to leave with a knee injury early on.  

   Although the Browns were terrible on both sides of the ball, the Rams are one of the top teams in the league, and they may make a lot of teams look terrible.  The Rams did not draft Robert Griffin III in 2012, and instead traded for several draft picks, who are now on the team (hello lineman Greg Robinson, 2nd overall pick this year).  Also, a partial explanation for the Browns' miserable performance was a rash of injuries in the secondary.  The Browns were without cornerbacks Joe Haden, Buster Skrine, Marcus Trufant and Pierre Desir. That's four of their five top cornerbacks.  Leon McFadden, probably the sixth best qb on the team, was torched pretty well by St Louis. I'm not sure if he will make the final team.  If the Browns have fewer than four guys out of the lineup, the secondary may be a LOT better.

   Christian Kirksey had a good game at inside linebacker, and made a fantastic pick.  He does not look like a rookie.  Pass coverage was a problem area for the Browns linebacker corps last year, and Kirksey goes a long way to fixing that problem.  I think he will start and be an impact player.  

    I noted that Ray Agnew started at fullback. The running game did not exactly hum when he was in, but on the other hand MarQueis Gray contributed a costly and unnecessary holding penalty.  Gray has made some big plays so far, but also some bad plays.  But what the Browns really need is a guy who can block for the halfback.  

    In short, this was a terrible game, and the Browns looked uninspired on both sides of the ball.  They still have time to turn it around, but they need to get it together soon.  

Cleveland Browns Defensive Off-Season Needs

    For the past two years the Browns have used a traditional 4-3-4 defense under the Holmgren regime, with Dick Jauron as Defensive Coordinator.   Everyone thought that it was going to be a difficult transition from Rob Ryan’s 3-4, but in 2011 that proved not to be the case.   The Browns has an amazingly good defense in 2011, despite a weak offense that usually gave Browns opponents good field position.  But in 2012, they slid back, partly because of injuries at key positions and a pathetically bad draft, especially from a defensive point of view.  After accumulating 14 draft picks for 2012,  the Browns were unable to add a major contributor on defense.  On offense, the Browns rookie of the year might have been Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Josh Gordon or Mitchell Schwartz.  But on defense, there is nobody at all.  Billy Winn might have been the best the Browns could do, as a part time defensive lineman. 

      This year,  Jauron is gone,  and now it is Ray Horton's turn to design a defense, going back to the 3-4-4 The likely outcome is that the Browns will go back to the 3-4-4 base defense. 

"3-4 or 4-3?  Who cares?  We know how the game is played."

    The defensive line is not so bad.  Ahtyba Rubin played nose tackle in the Mangini Regime  and Phil Taylor was  a nose tackle in college.  Taylor especially is very fast for a big man and can get after the passer.  It may be that the Browns will find a way to get both Rubin and Taylor on the field at the same time, and  Jabal Sheard and Frostee Rucker are capable defensive ends in addition to Wynn.  They might pick up a defensive end in the draft if there’s one available, but if the worst case is that they line up a 320 pounder at defensive end, is that really a weakness?




"Hey man, I CAN rush the passer, ok?"

The Browns lost  linebackers Chris Gocong and Scott Fujita to injury last year.  Plus they had to start the season without Joe Haden due to a suspension.   Nobody is sure if Gocong is going to be healthy or not, and Fujita may retire.  With Jackson as the only true talent in the linebacker corps, the Browns may have to add two or even three linebackers this off season.  

   

                                 Squish!

In the defensive backfield, the Browns have only two quality defensive backs:  Joe Haden at corner and T. J. Ward at safety.  Buster Skrine is the number two corner, and got picked on last year.   Sheldon Brown is a very tough player, but will not be back.  I think Sheldon may have lost a step, which is why the Browns have not made a serious effort to re-sign him.    Hence the Browns will need another corner and a safety.  Young fast corners are tough to find, and some of the mock drafts have the Browns selecting Demarcus Milliner with their number 6 overall pick (here’s hoping that they do, instead of picking another quarterback). 

 

A lot of my friends think the Browns have great young talent, making great progress, blah, blah, blah.  But as I see it the Browns are woefully short on both sides of the ball.  They will need to add four players on defense and another four on offense (TE, RG, LG, WR).  On the other hand, they have the salary cap space to add several players.  We’ll see how good Mike Lombardi is at judging talent and negotiating favorable contracts.