Everyone is down on Baker and down on the Offensive line. For good reason. Either because of injuries or they just aren't as good as we thought, the offense is struggling in those two positions.  Never in my wildest imagination 3 or 4 years ago, would I thought a 3-1 start to the season would be met with such disappointment from so many people.

Minnesota game was hard to watch at times on the offensive side of the ball. Our defense dominated for the second week in row. WE WON.. In the end that is the only metric that counts in the NFL.. WE WON.

The Bears game, little easier to watch, Defense again was dominant.. WE WON..  Titans game was the opposite. Defense got picked apart and Offense did reasonably well, and of course Patrick picked our Defense apart, and offense did extremely well.

So what are we doing right?  It is a LOT!!

Running the ball..Chubb and Hunt are beasts.. 

Offensive blocking for the run.. Obviously see above. They are doing enough to break those two open.

PENALTIES!!  Remember how this phrase.. "No Flags No Flags.. God damnit!!"... That was our team just 2 years ago. Flagged every single freaking time something good happened.

Special teams.. Absolutely killing it.. Other than the dropped punt that likely cost us the game(along with the fumble and the missed Njoku pass), they have been flawless.

Defense Line.. Outstanding play.

Route running by OBJ..  HE IS GETTING OPEN!  Good god if Baker could just settle down and make those throws.. OBJ could be set to have a Pro-bowl season..

Stepping Up.. With the rash of injuries. Backups and Rookies are filling the gaps and the next man up philosophy is showing us it works.

Anything else you guys are seeing?   I am stoked at our start.. Our team always starts slow, and our standing almost always shows it.. We always lost these off games.. When the team was off, it was always ugly, and we ALWAYS LOST.. We are 3-1..  Strangely, the best game we've played was the only loss we had..  We've been flat, and we've been uninspired in important aspects of the game.. But we are winning.... 

I was watching the game last Sunday and within the first quarter I was thinking "MAN.. If this was anybody but Mahomes or Jackson, they would be getting Malachi crunched by Garret and Clowny on nearly every other play".   

And it finally happened late in the 4th.. The two FINALLY met at the QB in an absolutely crucial moment..  I thought our run defense was exceptional.. Of course, except for Patrick's runs(which would be the same for Jackson)...

We are going up against Tyrod Taylor on Sunday. He can run, but he is no Lamar or Patrick that's for damn sure, as we saw in the Jet's game 2 years ago.  I think this becomes a very long day for Tyrod and their offense.  Our run stopping game is much improved this year.. I feel that nothing has changed in the middle of the defense. Patrick easily picked the gaps in our zone with ease, and I think any team is going to be able to exploit this weakness.  the only way to stop this, is to get to the QB.. The only way to get to the QB is to force them into passing situations by denying their run game early.  Force this game into the hands of Tyrod, and that will be a feast for Clowny and Garret..

Our offense was spectacular last week. Literally THREE plays I can point to that cost us that game..  it was literally that tight.. 3 plays was the difference..  Chubb dropping the ball, Mayfield under throwing Njoku on that last possession. and Mayfield getting tripped and throwing the INT to seal it.. That is it... No other team, again other than Baltimore, is going to be that tight..

We have to figure out how to Beat the Chiefs and the Ravens if we want to make it to the Super Bowl...

I didn't realize that Tretter also got injured on that play.. 

I am sure we all remember it.. That fateful throw from Baker to OBJ during the Cinci game. (follow link)..

From that interception started a whole new Cleveland Browns team, with Baker Mayfield leading the way... I have never heard OBJ talk of that interception nor lay the blame for his season ending injury on Baker. But they both have to have been thinking about it... From what I saw of Baker, he took that interception to heart in a big way.. From that day on, I saw a different Baker Mayfield. One who takes his job dead serious.. I think he realized he could have ended the career of a very dynamic Wide Receiver, one that could have been his Jerry Rice to his hopefully Joe Montana.. Those type of chances don't come very often...  After that play and after that game, it was a tale of two teams.. Let's be honest, before the Cinci game, not many of us had the confidence in this team we had after the last game of the season against Pittsburgh...

I think Baker grew up after that play. Realizing that these men he's surrounded by are relying on him to not only make them look good, but TO NOT INJURE OR KILL THEM.. He made infinitely better choices after that game. The team responded by stepping up and making great plays and doing the little things correct. Penalties went down after that game, dropped balls went down after that game... Just a completely different team...

I hope that this will continue into this new season. I was one of those people in the few weeks after that game that posited that Baker might be better without OBJ.. But that was incorrect. I think Baker got better because he realized he may have ended a great career and made a commitment to himself to NEVER do that again.... 

Go BROWNS!!!

Sorry for the caps in my initial post name.  As usual, every Browns game takes me to the fucking bitter end and several more craft beers than I expected to drink.. So needless to say I am still freaking feeling the after affects....

After reading my drunken posts, I will stand by them.. This is not the "fumble" part 2. It was a fluke play that called into question a ridiculous rule that hopefully will be re-considered this year...

As some internet talking head said for days before this game.. We were playing with house money. We weren't expected to be good this year. We sure as hell weren't supposed to make the playoff and we sure as hell, sure as hell weren't going to Beat Pittsburgh in Pittsburg in the opening round. And we sure as hell weren't supposed to take the Reigning Super Bowl champs to the literal last minutes of the game...  So we won on so many levels already this year... The Fumble was a choke by a player who rarely chocked.  On a team that was destined to make the Super Bowl that year.. No comparison. 

As to the Mahomes injury.. I am not sure if it has been discussed as to how injured Patrick had been for some time before he left the game. If I had to guess he was suffering from back spasms starting back in the 2nd quarter. And our defensive scheme shifted gears when our DC realized he was hobbled. We were sending a 5th man at him even if it meant going man on man and getting burned.  Just so we could put a body on him and knock him down. And it worked, even before he went out of the game.. I have no idea what possessed him or his coach to put him in a position to run that ball like he did... He or his coach took him out of that game.. We just did the work for them... It was clean but brutal...

But then again YOU ARE NOT A RUNNING BACK.. And this is why running QB's do not last in this league. Both Lamar and Patrick were taken out of their respective games by hard hits.  So maybe this will call into question this move towards QB's that both run and throw well. But always seem to fall back on the run when the need arises and almost inevitably leads to an injury.

Go Browns!! For the last time this season... Can't wait for next year.. Can't believe I am saying this and not being sarcastic  

As to who is saying Higgins, pretty much everyone on TV.. Real Browns fans understand he was trying to win the game..

Stephanski called a ballsy game. Twice 4th and short on our side of the field and going for it.. Balls.....  He missed an easy red flag on that "reception".. Not sure how much that played into anything.. But a very obvious mistake. Then losing the Timeout on an obvious reception not 2 plays later.. Another mistake... 

The Baker INT was a horrible horrible pass. It resulted in ZERO points. But then again it negated us getting points on that possession.

The Defense was always going to be our downfall and it showed today... All we needed was ONE stop on that last possession and they just couldn't do it... Next year  we will address our defense.... 

It was a great year and even with this bitter loss, it shows how far we've come in a very short amount of time.

I am going on the Higgins bandwagon. I will 100% support his effort to make that TD. Not 1 in a 100 times would that result in a touchback... 

Rashard. You keep your head up!!! Browns Nation loves you and your effort to make that TD..... There were at least a dozens points that we could have won that game and your mistake was just one of them. Baker's INT was inexcusable. The fact that our Defense couldn't make Hennie miss on a 3rd and long...

Keep your head up and I for one hope you our are 3rd receiver next year behind Landry and OBJ.....   Great season.. See you all at the Draft!!!!!!

BobPound!

THIS is why I am a Browns fan and why I stuck with them through so much shit these past 20 years(new Browns). To get back that feeling from the days of Bernie and Brian Sipe and the rest of those cast of characters..  

This team will already go down in history as one of the best we've ever fielded if not the best(and that is saying something).. But I feel the best is yet to come. WE CAN WIN THIS GAME.. Mark my words..

The Chiefs will come out rusty and we can jump on top of them and get a 7 or 14 point lead.. But don't expect them to fall apart like the Steelers. They will come roaring back and this is where our game plan needs to bend not break...

First, run early and often to limit the number of possessions for Mahomes. Take shots to keep them honest. A Higgins post down the left side and air it out. But then back to the run. Make the 3rd down manageable at less than 4 yards.. Baker has proven he is deadly on those plays. 5 wideouts(with Hunt or Chubb) and spread them out.. Pick them apart.

Defense must submit to their over the top dominance.. KEEP THEM IN FRONT OF US at all costs. Put extra men in the backfield and accept that they will will run and short/medium pass us down the field. Firm up inside the 20 and try and at least get 25 to 30% of their Red Zones to turn into 3 points instead of 7 or 8....  

Control the clock on both sides of the ball.. Make their touchdown drives take longer.. Run the ball on our side and run the clock.. SLOW THEM DOWN to our speed instead of trying to match them at theirs.   We will lose a shootout just like we did against the Ravens.... CONTROL the game and we win.

And if by some miracle OBJ is reading things on our humble board.. You are a Brown through and through. You've done the one thing you needed to do for this team. Be a quiet supporter.. You are a big reason we are here and I for one won't forget you... I hope they bring you back next year and you are that last piece of the offense that either brings us back to a Super Bowl(God willing) or takes us there next year.....

GO BROWNS.. You are already winners....

We have done something I didn't think I would see for years. And that is the Browns not only making the playoffs, not only winning the first round, but doing it against our former arch rivals the Steelers(is this the beginning of a new rivalry, one where we win).

Whatever happens Sunday we Browns fans can finally say we've broken the new Browns losing streaks on just about every single level. NO more do I have to listen to some dumbass announcer scouring the internet to find out how long it has been since the Browns did X... I am done with that Shit!

But what about next year? Or the year after that?  

Imagine.. Next year we come out and show that this wasn't a fluke Covid-19 year. But in fact it tempered us in the worst fire this league has endured since its inception. Imagine next year we make the playoffs and then the year after that. As a long suffering fan I am savoring these last few games like I am anticipating another long drought of no water. But what if we FINALLY have the right pieces in place and realize we aren't in a desert and we found an oasis. But rather we've found ourselves in a land where getting water and food is normal. 

So think about what it might feel like to be a New England fan. I remember a time when it was an embarrassment to be a Patriots fan or a New Orleans fan.. Now look at them and their fans. Imagine how you will feel when we start to put together not just 11 wins in a season, but rather years and years of winning seasons.

I feel we are on the cusp of a long term trend. And I need to adjust my "poor me" browns fan mentality and start expecting what we saw this year.

BobPound!

Too Nervous to come up with anything other than.

GO BROWNS.... !!

See you all on the other side...

       There are lots of reasons for us to be optimistic. I had thrown the towel in when Stephanski was tested positive. But I've recovered from that once I realized that Van Pelt is perfectly capable of running this offense. Hell it might even be a bonus is some ways.. So many coaches rely on analytics to call plays, based on the data they get from opposing coaches and other players. I am sure they had a whole game plan based On Stephanski's tendencies.. that all gets somewhat tossed out the window. If Stephanski and Van Pelt are smart, they should let Van Pelt be the lead on creating the game plan this week.. Really toss a wrench in their analytics planning.

     But apart from that, I think last Sunday's game was a setup.. I can't remember who he is, but he is a news person that has a round table chat with Mary Kay Cabot. He suggested on Friday before the game last week that Stephanski and company MIGHT hold a lot of their best offensive plays back in the chance that we would be facing the Steelers in the Wild Card game.. I found the play calling last week to be puzzling at best and down right infuriating at times... With the 2 best running back in the league we are running 5 wide out sets with and empty back field!!???  

     But the more I watch the tape, I think he has been setting up whomever we would have faced in the first round for at least the last 3 weeks.. It's like we don't have two of the best RB's in the game if you watched those games.... I think we come out running and running and running and running.. And hope our defense can keep early scoring to a minimum from the Steelers.. Commit to the run and the long game.. Wear them down and control the clock and keep Ben off the field late in the game.

I fear if we put this on Baker's shoulders he is going to sadly disappoint us all. Their pass rush is to good and Bakers sucks under pressure.. Commit to the run.

   Lastly is the pressure factor... We DID IT.. We made it to the playoffs. I feel a certain amount of relief after our win last week.. We are in Gravy land... Pittsburgh has a lot of pressure on them to win out. With a 10-0 start(or was it 11-0?) they were the hands on favorite to face the Chiefs at the AFC championship....  now they are 12-4 and coming off of a stretch of 1 win in 5 games(almost losing all 5)...... That is a lot of pressure and frees our team up to play lose and say FUCK IT and play all out....

   I am going to go out on a limb and say we win 28-17...

Go BROWNS!! Either way I am so proud of this team and can't wait to see what happens next year.. Can't remember the last time I felt that way. Including 2003..

Just saw this..   Just wow.. I am speechless.    

Ok. So where does that leave us... Titans won.. Miami Lost, Colts won, we won, Ravens Won.. Do we get Pittsburg again in Pittsburg?

I don't think so. If we win against Jets then lose to the Steelers its like a 99% chance we are in. We were theorizing the computers must be taking into account a possible tie with the one of the other teams.. But if we take care of business with the Jets game, I think we are a shoe in.. But winning against the Stoolers in the last game of the year, AFC north Champs or not, it would send a message.

But God isn't it fun to be here!  Who would have thunk it ..

There is every possibility that Pittsburgh loses to the Colts as they are fighting to be at the top as well. So this is no push over game for them by any stretch..

If we win against the Jets(PLEASE PLEASE) and the Colts beats Pukesburg, that leaves us both at 11-4 with one game to go.. WINNER TAKE ALL on the last day of the season for the AFC North Championship.. How fucking magical. And if we win and they win, not sure how that affects things if we beat them on the last game.. We will both be 12 and 4 and I believe the Steelers will hold the edge as they have the better division record.. 

So really it comes down to rooting like hell for the Colts next week.. GO Baltimore!! Never thought I would utter those words..

Sorry, but had to say it.. I just woke up and saw this on the scroll. PUKESBURG LOSES TO THE BUNGLES.. Are you F'ing kidding me.. OMG this sets up an absolutely EPIC end to what has already been an epic season... Last game of the season versus our worst rival. For the AFC North Championship! This couldn't have been written by the best fantasy novelist.

I have so much more to say, but busy at work. Sorry if this has been covered. Merge if needed... Just had to say it out loud somewhere...

BOBPOUND!!  

The next two games are either perfectly timed, or scary as shit(as said above). I know there are no moral victories and all, but screw that in regards to the Ravens game. I think the Ravens are back to form, in that they are an elite NFL team(not just AFC North). And we stood toe to toe to the bitter end of that game. That was a Baltimore team that no one has had to face since last year. They were firing on all cylinders.  

From a game plan point of view, the only thing we could have done different was to put a full time shadow on Jackson to keep him from busting out. But then of course that means one less in pass coverage and he showed he can still pass if he has to.. 

What that game showed is that we still can't beat NFL elite teams, but damn we came close. Who in the AFC is playing better than the Ravens right now? Chief's, Pittsburgh?  Maybe Buffalo and that's about it. The rest of the AFC we are at or above their level already.   

The loss may be perfectly timed because we got the loss out of the way. We were on a 4 game winning streak and I think we were starting think our shit didn't stink. I kept hearing to many players starting to get that "we are going to the super bowl" talk going.. SORRY we are not going to the Super Bowl, unless a bunch of stars fall into perfect alignment.  If we hunker down and beat the Jets and Giants we are in the playoffs. We can even beat Pukesburgh on Jan 3rd if they decide to sit some of their players if winning the game is meaningless to them... 

Depending on who we get in the first round of the Wild Card games, we could actually win a playoff game this year.. This sets us up for some big off season moves to shore up the players we have, and get the players we need.  I am more than happy with the progress we've made to date.. We've found our coach FINALLY and our head office FINALLY. I think we've found our QB. We have top tier talent at nearly every position. And now we can start to build upon it.. Not by gimmicks. But by doing it right.

This Giants game is a litmus test for me. If the progress we've made is real, this game shouldn't scare any one. The Ravens game knocked us back to reality. But also showed us how incredibly far we've come this season.. This Ravens team was BETTER than the week 1 Ravens.. And we are infinitely better than the Browns we were at week 1..

Go Browns.. 

A TOTALLY under appreciated aspect to Baker Mayfield is HE IS ALWAYS ON THE FIELD!!!

Think about that for a minute. We are most the may through his 3rd season and he hasn't missed a start yet. And I can only think of a handful of plays he didn't take the snap. After getting the snot beat out of him and the rib injuries, he stood in against a relentless Steelers pass rush. and only after the coach took pity on him I think, did he get pulled.

I've seen him take some vicious hits and he gets back up.  The saying goes "you can't hit the ball if you aren't up at bat". Well Baker is in there every single week in a league filled with injured QB's... After seeing his performance last week and really the last 5 to 6 weeks now(the horrendous INT in Cinci) I've seen a different Mayfield. 

Sucks we have to wait till Monday night to watch this. But glad we get a primetime slot.

Having watched the last 5 games of ours several times now(highlights mostly) I am more impressed with our secondary that I was at the time I watched the games live. Our first 6 games or so our defense seemed to be dependent upon nicely timed turnovers. Like the Eagles game where they were on the 5 yard line and he dropped the ball. Or the numerous strip sacks by Garret early in the year. But as of late, our secondary(without Ward mind you) have been stepping up. Lots of last minute tips of the ball to deny the receiver or a good hit. 

With Garret back and in good form, combined with an energized Vernon and our secondary not sucking, I feel good about how we can at least contain their offense. After watching the highlights of the Dallas game, they are a far cry from the team we faced in game 1. It's like they stagnated and everyone else improved.. PLUS.. I noticed that Dallas did what the teams that were able to have limited success last season against the Rats.. And that was sealing the outside and forcing Jackson to run inside.. He burned Dallas on 1 play where nobody was shadowing him. But they seemed to keep him in check.. So I feel good about our defense being able to keep them from running away with it, it all comes down to our Run defense... And that is a weak spot for us. As well as short/medium routes. But we are getting better in my opinion.  We are better than Dallas.. And Dallas did a decent job of containing their run game, save a few home runs..

Where we will win this game(yes that is my prediction) is on offense. Best way to keep Jackson off the field is to control the ball and the clock. And we are perfectly equipped to do this. I expect a return to form and that is the run first strategy. Expect a slow start as we work on wearing their line down. IF Jackson does his run thing(or the rookie running back), expect that Rat Birds will be quickly scoring on their side.. On our side we will run, pick them apart with short routes(like Dallas did effectively) and run the clock and wear their defensive front down. With Baltimore either scoring quickly or being forced to punt quickly, their Defense is going to have a long day with our FIRST RATED offensive line. We will man handle them in the trenches and force them to pull another man into the box. At which point Baker will be able to go over the top and keep the chains moving... 

I am not nearly as afraid of this game as I was 5 or 6 weeks ago. I had this game as a solid LOSS for us going into the final stretch.. This is a very winnable game, even more so than last week. I think the Titans are a more formidable team and we picked them apart. Baltimore at this point is a shadow of the team we faced 10 or 11 weeks ago.

Browns 35 RatBirds 28

BobPound!

I have never wanted a win more than this one. All week to listen to the likes of Cowherd(Coward) telling us that Mayfield would be gone after this game, barring a win.. What bullshit. Sure, most of us(all of us?) have had our doubts on Mayfield. But only because the press keeps putting it in our heads. Mayfield has played his part in Stafanski's offensive scheme. And if you DISPASSIONATELY look at every game(as I have multiple times), Mayfield has finally bought into the scheme. It took the first half of the season for him to shake off this belief that HE is the man who must shoulder the team. Running around and heaving it down the field for that impossible throw!! Only it didn't work.. He more times than not got picked...

BUT within those horrible throws and decisions have been some absolutely incredible 3rd and X throws for first downs, many of them over 10 yards. But the last 5 games I have seen an entirely different Mayfield and the stats tell me I am not incorrect. NO INTERCEPTIONS. Not since that horrible pick in the Bengals game has he thrown a pick.  And honestly other than the ill timed fumble today, he's been down right stingy in giving up anything negative. He in a word is PERFECT for this offense. One where he isn't the star, he isn't the man who has to take the team up upon his shoulders and win. He is surrounded by talent and the Stafanski play book allows Baker to hand off(literally) the big plays to others.. But within this system it opens up BIG PLAYS for Mayfield once the ground has been plowed by the likes of Landry and Chubb and Hunt. This was a STAND OUT game for Mayfield and hopefully shows him that if he plays the role of "Game Manager", he can have 300 yard 4 TD passing days as he did today. 

But more than that was the Defense. I almost barfed in my mouth watching CBS pre-game anoint Derrik Henry as KING HENRY. And he was destined to run it at will against our shoddy defense. And I will be honest. I felt they might be right. But our defense stepped up to the task. First a 3 and out, followed by a strip of King Henry, his first in nearly several hundred runs, ending the longest streak in the NFL.. This is BROWNS FOOTBALL. Get a stingy lead in the first half and lean on the super DUO of Chubb and Hunt.. Allowing Mayfield to make those hard 3'rd and X plays that he seems to becoming a master at..

I cannot be more proud of this team as I am today. We have likely clinched out first playoff spot in years. But unlike that team of 2002(I was there for the Atlanta game that put us over the top), we are getting STRONGER not limping in. Each week I feel our team is getting better. We have 2 very hard games and hopefully 2 fairly easy games.. Depending on how Steelers finish the season, we could actually have THREE easy games(Pittsburgh likely will sit their starters on the last game of the season).. That means if we play the Ravens like we just played the Titans, we could be looking at a 13 and 3 season.... After watching them play the way they did today, this is not at all fantasy..  GO BROWNS.....

BobPound! (after drinking 5 Great Lakes IPA's and 2 UFO's. And my home bar FINALLY had to pay up on a free drink because the Browns were winning at half time!!!!)