Tag Archives: Baker Mayfield

Airing of grievances: Browns edition

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It is time for the airing of grievances for the Cleveland Browns. 

Freddie Kitchens 

Freddie, you have no idea what you are doing. Absolutely no awareness. Somehow you always the make wrong decision. Any adjustment that needs to be made is non-existent. There is no attempt to put the team in a position to win. Also, you wore a stupid as hell t-shirt and didn’t realize that nothing good would come from it. 

John Dorsey

You hired Freddie Kitchens, completely ignored the offensive line and depth on the defensive side of the ball. Are you going to fire Freddie? Will you even keep your job when the season is up? What is your plan? Do you even have one?

Baker Mayfield

What the hell happened? Are you actually the answer at the quarterback position? All the progress that was seen after Hue Jackson was fired is somehow lost. What does the future hold? Are we still feeling dangerous? 

Myles Garrett

You hit Mason Rudolph in the head with his own helmet and it resulted in an indefinite suspension. What happened before hand doesn’t matter. Everyone knows you’re smart enough to know better. 

Mike Priefer

You have a reputation as a great special teams coach. The fact that Dontrell Hilliard has no idea what he’s doing on kick and punt returns falls squarely on you. Hilliard routinely does the opposite. Nobody should be impressed by your work until this is fixed. 

Uniforms 

Everyone is waiting for the new uniforms.  This is a simple task, don’t overthink it. Over designing resulted in some of the worst uniforms in the league last time around. The classic Browns uniform is such a timeless look. Simplicity in uniform design can go a long way.  Don’t f**k it up. 

David Njoku 

Figure out what the hell is going on with him. Are you going to keep him, release him or trade him? He isn’t a true tight end. Sure, he is big and fast but the dude can’t block. At this point he is really a big bodied slot receiver who can occasionally line up on the line of scrimmage. That’s it. If that’s what you want, cool. If not, that’s fine too. Just be clear and make a decision. 

Where do the Browns go from here?

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The Cleveland Browns lost to the Arizona Cardinals 38-24 in a season where everything seems to get worse as each day passes.

There was never a feeling that the Cleveland Browns were in this game. Arizona led 14-0 fairly quickly and after that it was all catch up. There was nothing the Browns defense could do to stop the Cardinals offense. Combine that with a Cleveland offense that is extremely inconsistent, the game was essentially over with 12 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter. Cleveland would cut the Arizona lead to four twice, but they were unable to tie it up or even take the lead. Now the Cleveland Browns are 6-8, a winning season is not possible. There was still hope for the playoffs coming into this game. The odds for that happening were slim to none and slim just walked out the door. Where do the Browns go from here?

Cleveland was clearly unprepared for pretty much everything Arizona threw at them. Kenyan Drake had a field day and Kyler Murray’s effort was enough to bury the Browns. Offensively, Cleveland was just bad. The statistics in this game lie, they make things seem better than they actually were. The team was not on the same page quite often and even when they were Baker Mayfield was throwing some atrocious passes.

Freddie Kitchens was given the support of the team before the game Sunday. Have to wonder if that still remains. The one caveat with this support was barring a “horrific collapse or circumstance to end the season”. Does Sunday’s double-digit loss to a clearly bad Arizona team count? If not, it should.

Freddie Kitchens is not the only one at fault here. John Dorsey is responsible for a lot of the players on this roster. This collection of talent. This team of characters. Dorsey is just as much to blame as Kitchens.

The solution?

Clean house from top to bottom.

John Dorsey? Gone.

Freddie Kitchens and his staff? Gone.

There is no future with any of this intact. There is clearly some disagreement over who should play and when to play them. In order to get the most out of this team the Browns need to have a coaching staff and front office on the same page. Right now they do not have that. Not in the least bit.

Even with a new front office and coach there is still questions in regards to Baker Mayfield. At least at that point there would be an unbiased evaluation of Mayfield and nobody involved would have any attachment to the quarterback. Making things a bit easier if they eventually decide to move in a different direction.

Perhaps talk of moving on from Baker Mayfield right now is a bit premature. Although, if they bring in a new regime they will give an honest look at the quarterback. Sometimes being in a situation where the success or failure of a a quarterback does not impact your job brings out the best in all involved. If Mayfield succeeds, great. If not, that decision became a hell of a lot easier.

Before there is an in-depth breakdown of what moves the team needs to make, Jimmy Haslam needs to realize that there is one shot at the current roster working. That shot is next season. Haslam needs to ask himself one question. Are John Dorsey and Freddie Kitchens the people he wants in charge of the best roster that has existed during his ownership? The obvious answer is no. The sooner Jimmy Haslam realizes this, the sooner the team can get where most expected them to be this season. The playoffs.

More questions than answers with Baker Mayfield

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has gone from sensation to is he able to lead them team in just a matter of months.

Well here we are. After a fantastic rookie campaign, Baker Mayfield is not living up to expectations in his second year. A drop in touchdowns, completion percentage and yards per game along with an increase in interceptions is not helping anything. Mayfield’s record is an identical 6-7 through 13 starts in both seasons. The drastic decline in performance this season after experiencing an uptick after Hue Jackson’s firing last year should be a warning sign. This is leading to more questions than answers about what Baker Mayfield is in the NFL.

Here is what we know. Baker Mayfield was successful after then offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens simplified the offense and his reads on passing plays. Essentially cutting off half the field and only requiring Mayfield to read half the field. Now that he is tasked with reading the whole field he is struggling mightily. Granted, the offensive scheme and offensive line are doing him no favors, Mayfield’s decision making seems to be sub-par. Plays that Mayfield got away with last season are not present this year. Tight window throws are not going his way. Passes are bouncing off the hands of his receivers and resulting in either an incompletion or an interception. Everything that happened last season seems more akin to a Derek Anderson-esque dupe job than a coming out party for a clear cut franchise quarterback.

Baker Mayfield’s performance is reliant on others around him and that is a problem

Here is what we know when it comes to the performance of a quarterback. An elite, great or franchise quarterback (whatever phrasing you prefer is up to you), is not impacted this drastically when it comes to offensive philosophy, coaching and players around them. An elite quarterback plays at a high level regardless of those factors. When the performance of a quarterback is entirely dependent on those factors he is not an elite quarterback. This is the description of a quarterback who is ultimately replaceable. A word that if applied to a quarterback selected first overall with the hope he is a franchise quarterback is alarming.

Players such as Jared Goff and Carson Wentz are more dependent on those around them than their actual ability. Goff was an absolute disaster under Jeff Fisher until be saved by Sean McVay and is currently experiencing a drop in performance this season. The Philadelphia Eagles offense looked to gel better with Nick Foles as their quarterback and even won a Super Bowl with him after Wentz was lost due to an injury. Philadelphia had a tough choice to make between Wentz and Foles, ultimately choosing to pay Wentz. Now both Los Angeles and Philadelphia are paying quarterbacks who are far from elite a lot of money and may regret it down the road if they are not already. This should be a warning to Cleveland when it comes to Baker Mayfield.

Baker Mayfield has been figured out

Opposing defenses know that Baker Mayfield prefers to roll out of the pocket to evade pressure and make plays on the run. Defenses have done everything the can to make him uncomfortable, bringing pressure from all over in order to do so. Mayfield has looked uncomfortable all season long and when he’s uncomfortable he crumbles. He makes bad decisions, tries to do too much and results in a major loss of yardage or a turnover. Mayfield has done this going back to his time at Oklahoma. This isn’t a new development. Apparently Cleveland was able to prevent their opponents from exposing this flaw last season, but are completely unable to do so this season.

Once there is anything on tape that shows a tendency good coaches will do everything they can to take advantage of that. The opposing defense will send a ton of pressure to speed up his internal clock or they will drop unexpected players in coverage confusing Mayfield. The processing just isn’t there at times when it is truly needed.

Baker Mayfield leaves a lot to be desired when the team needs him most

One of the most important times when he is needed to perform is when the team is behind. Baker Mayfield has thrown twice as many interceptions (10) compared to touchdowns (5) while trailing. In the 4th quarter, Mayfield is not completing a high percentage of his passes (54.2). Mayfield’s TD-INT ratio is an uninspiring 3-7 and he has been sacked 13 times in the 4th quarter, the most of any quarter. Overall, Mayfield has been sacked twice as much when the Browns are behind (22) than when they are are ahead (9) or the game is tied (2) combined.

Baker Mayfield still needs to learn when to give a neutral answer

This comes from the postgame press conference after Sunday’s win against Cincinnati. After being asked about the health of Odell Beckham Jr., Mayfield replied that his injury was not handled right. Whether intentional or not, Mayfield threw both Odell and the team under the bus. The decision to not have offseason surgery could have been Odell’s. It could have been the decision of the team. The decision is not the issue. It is Baker Mayfield speaking on something he has no business speaking about. The health of Odell Beckham Jr. is not for Baker Mayfield to comment on.

While Baker Mayfield did clarify his intentions on Twitter later that day, the damage was already done.

Again, whether intentional or not, Mayfield threw Odell and the team under the bus. Odell could have chose to play through the injury, possibly thinking that it would not impact his performance all that much, even though it obviously has. The medical staff is a group of individuals that ownership and the front office provides to the team. Baker essentially said that something that is provided by his bosses was handled incorrectly. Accurate or not, this is something you do not say in public.

The reality is that Baker Mayfield’s opinion in this matter is irrelevant. It is not about him, it does not involve him and he should not comment on the matter. It is the responsibility of the player or the team to address this particular situation. If Odell, the coaching staff, front office or medical staff comments on it that’s one thing. Baker commenting on this is unacceptable, unprofessional and truly shows the lack of accountability in the building.

A division could be coming

Most feel that Freddie Kitchens is gone after the year. Kitchens is unable to get his team on the same page and there is constant issues on and off the field. The team struggles mightily after the scripted opening to start the game. There are no adjustments and the key to coaching in the NFL is making adjustments, and the subsequent adjustment to the adjustments. The reality is they need an adult in the room to supervise the children that are the Cleveland Browns. This is where a possible division could occur.

The only reason Freddie Kitchens got the job in the first place is due to the perceived chemistry with Baker Mayfield. All of the magic from last season is gone. The process which was used to select Kitchens as their head coach was flawed to begin with and now we are seeing why. A coach being selected because of the relationship with the quarterback is not the best way to do things.

Once Kitchens gets fired there could be a situation that Baker is not used to in the NFL. Someone who is critical of his performance and willing to hold him accountable. We’ve already seen Baker be in a situation where did not get along with the coaching staff (however considering who the coaches were it is highly understandable).

What we’re going to have here is a group of individuals who back the new coach and want to do whatever it takes to win and there will be a group that backs the quarterback. This potential division could split the team into two factions and continue the downward spiral they have been on for quite some time.

Baker Mayfield appears closer to average than elite

This is about the complete package. This isn’t about his arm strength, leadership qualities or charisma. At the end of the day Baker Mayfield looks to close to being an average quarterback. A quarterback that may find himself in the Top-10 one year (closer to 10 than 1) and in the bottom 10 another.

The Cleveland Browns need to think about a few things. The fifth-year option on his contract and whether they pick it up or not. If they want to spend a ton of money on a supporting cast to prop up their quarterback. The final thing may be the most important. Whether or not they will be looking for a replacement quarterback as soon as the 2021 offseason. If things continue to trend in the direction that they appear to be, it seems like a new quarterback could be on the horizon sooner rather than later.

Can Baker Mayfield turn it around and save the Browns?

That’s the million dollar question. Is Baker Mayfield going to be able to answer the questions about his play, his character and his overall ability. Yeah, Baker Mayfield has an entertaining personality and is not one to back down when he is challenged, but if he doesn’t back it up on the field who cares? There’s nothing worse than someone who talks a lot and comes up short when it matters most.

There’s a lot of issues when it comes to his actual play on the field. Whether it is decision making ability or not crumbling in the pocket when feeling pressured. Baker doesn’t need to be superman. Often it appears he tries to do everything himself and attempts the spectacular play instead of the smart play. The smart play could keep the chains moving while the attempted spectacular play has not quite worked out this season. This is something that can be coached, but it is on Baker if he wants to adjust the way he plays the game.

Whether or not Baker Mayfield is able to answer the questions that surround him will impact his own future and the future of the Cleveland Browns. If he can answer all of the questions that surround him, he can certainly bounce back and be the hero everyone thought he could be. The only issue is that it may be just too much to overcome.

Browns were doomed from the start

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The Cleveland Browns are in yet another tailspin. Their future was already predetermined and there might not be anything they can do about it.

The Cleveland Browns are 5-7, the playoffs are not realistic anymore. The team is looking at another possible coaching change and each week things get worse. From top to bottom, the organization is a disaster.

The future of this team is highly questionable, but this is not a result of this season. Events that took place prior to this set in stone a series of events that has torpedoed hope for success for this year and beyond.

December 31, 2017

In order to understand what is happening now, we have to go back to this date. This was the final game of the 2017 NFL season and when the Cleveland Browns became the second team in NFL history to finish a season 0-16. For some bizarre reason, Hue Jackson kept his job. Huey kept his job and became the first coach to finish a season winless to do so. This was the moment that could have changed the future of the Cleveland Browns forever. Firing Jackson at this moment could have changed their fortunes for the better.

There is a theory that the status of Hue Jackson was not something that new general manger John Dorsey could alter. That ownership made it clear that no matter what, Hue Jackson was to remain coach. If this is indeed true, John Dorsey should have walked away from the table before accepting the job. Dorsey should not have signed on for a job where personnel decisions that should be his are being dictated by others. Hue Jackson did not deserve to continue coaching this team and John Dorsey should not have been forced to keep him. Everyone in the world knew this. Yet it happened.

There was a clear fork in the road, success and failure. Browns chose failure.

After the season finished and the team decided to keep Huey at the helm, they embarked on the offseason. This is a moment when a new general manager would usually be able to choose his coach. Instead, Jackson remained and the forced marriage began.

Cleveland was clearly in the market for a quarterback. The question was who was it going to be? Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen were all options for Cleveland. Cleveland eventually went with Baker Mayfield and the team continued to embark down the wrong road.

Not many expected Hue Jackson to last beyond the 2018 season, much less make it through the year. Jackson was predictably fired and the chain of disaster continued. In an ideal situation, the general manager, head coach and potential franchise quarterback are all on the same timeline. Aligning them in this manner allows for the group to grow together. Cleveland chose not to go down this route and now they are stuck in the same cycle they have been in since 1999. Cycling through coaching staffs and eventually quarterbacks until it all starts over again.

Frequent coaching turnover is a death sentence for a young quarterback

Baker Mayfield had two different head coaches and offensive coordinators in his first year. Now in his second season he appears destined to see that number grow to four after a presumed firing of Freddie Kitchens and his staff. The changing schemes, concepts, verbiage, etc. is not good for the development of a quarterback. If you want to stunt the growth of a potential franchise quarterback this is how to do it. Cleveland has done it before and appears ready to do it again.

Baker Mayfield could have his fourth head coach and offensive coordinator in three seasons. This is not the recipe for success, this is a clear path towards failure. A path that was chosen before arriving in Cleveland. A path that Baker is not able to change for the better.

John Dorsey constructed this team with the current timeline

Well if the Browns keep Freddie Kitchens we will see more of the same. No discipline, leadership, accountability or culture. A clear lack of awareness all around and frustration in and outside of the building. If Freddie goes, John Dorsey will be tasked with finding his replacement. Which brings forth this question. Should he be allowed to?

Part of the reason that the team is experiencing issues is because of the moves he made. Acquiring players with questionable backgrounds (Antonio Callaway) and ignoring positions of need (offensive tackle). A clear reason that the Browns offense has struggled this season (apart from Todd Monken not being a good fit) is that Greg Robinson and Chris Hubbard are terrible. Dorsey tried to thread the needle at the tackle position and clearly missed, leading to terrible pass protection on a fairly regular basis.

The Cleveland Browns have one shot at competing with this incarnation of the team. It is next year. This will be the year that new contracts will have to be handed out to their star players. Myles Garrett will be in the final year of his rookie deal. Baker Mayfield will have one more year after 2020 before a decision about his contract status needs to be made. This also applies to Nick Chubb. 2020 is the year that the team needs to make that big push into the playoffs. It is the year that if they do not seriously improve this entire process would be all for naught. The tanking, the Sashi Wars, Hue Jackson parading around as the worst coach ever. Next season is where it will be make or break and it appears to be pointing toward the latter and not the former.

There is a way to extend their contention window

Clean house. Top to bottom. Head coach, general manager, everyone involved. Actually build the team and not with just star players. Get role players. Get players who will buy in to whatever the system is. Acquire players of character. Build something sustainable. Make players want to play at a high level for the benefit of their teammates and not just themselves. Put together a program that will not only be successful on the field, but become the envy of other teams in the league.

John Dorsey came in with such bravado, claiming the team had no real football players. Well, Dorsey’s real football players have been a mixed bag. This isn’t giving credit to Sashi Brown, he had a long list of issues with decisions he made. Both have made mistakes and acquired some players with talent, end of story. The problem is that the timeline was sped up under John Dorsey. Mistakes with personnel were made along the way, putting the team where they are currently.. If the team wants to compete beyond 2020, someone new needs to be in charge.

If the team does not make a change, that’s it. It’s over. The waking of sleeping giant? It never happened. The giant will stay asleep and will be quite comfortable. There are currently no signs of waking up any time soon. Dysfunction is the name of the game in Cleveland. Leaks and cryptic tweets are on their way and will give the general public a glimpse of just how bad things are.

The only way to fix the situation in Cleveland is to find a new front office and coaching staff. Even then, it may already be too late. So much for waking up feeling dangerous.

Browns didn’t fall flat against Dolphins

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The Cleveland Browns avoided the classic trap game and managed to handle the Miami Dolphins relatively easily with a 41-24 win.

All of the build up to Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins pointed towards a potential trap game. Call it pessimism if you want. The reality is that for the last 20 years this is a game the Cleveland Browns lose on a regular basis. Heck, the Browns have already lost a trap game this season (the loss to Denver just a few weeks ago). Add in the fact the team is undisciplined, has an inexperienced head coach and the emotion from the brawl on Thursday Night Football, this had all the makings of a classic Browns loss.

The focus during the week seemed to be on what happened on Thursday and facing the Steelers again after Sunday’s game went final. Each and every day the discussion was about Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi and the upcoming second matchup with the Steelers. Simply put, Miami seemed to be getting overlooked by fans and media alike.

The trap was there, Cleveland avoided it.

Credit to where credit is due. Freddie Kitchens and co. had the team ready to go. More often than not a rookie head coach falls face first into the trap game. This past Sunday was not the case. Make no mistake, Cleveland was ready.

The Browns started out hot, racing out to a 28-0 lead. Any concern about coming out flat vanished. The next concern (letting Miami back into the game), did not disappear so easily. Miami scored 17 straight points to cut the Cleveland lead to 11 and there seemed to be that all too familiar feeling from fans. (The feeling of impending doom). Luckily it didn’t last, Cleveland was able to put the game away and come away with a double-digit victory.

Jarvis Landry was outstanding all game long. Baker Mayfield looked like what everyone expected him to look like at the start of the season. Baker has been on quite a run as of late. Mayfield is no longer in the negative in TD-INT ratio. In fact, Baker has eight touchdowns compared to just one interception over his last four games. Mayfield’s TD-INT ratio should continue to improve as the season progresses. Odell Beckham Jr. got his second touchdown of the season. OBJ should find the end zone a bit more over the final five games. Kareem Hunt scored his first touchdown of the season. Hunt has formed a nice backfield duo with Nick Chubb that may be the envy of most teams in the NFL.

The entire game was an emotional high. It will be crucial to not have a letdown in an all too important game against Pittsburgh. A game that may decide their fate in regards to the playoff hunt.

Josh Allen may have familiar performance vs Browns

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The Cleveland Browns face the Buffalo Bills Sunday at home and face a quarterback that they could have drafted in Josh Allen.

This is an all too familiar situation. Cleveland will face Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. If history tells us anything, it is that Allen will lead the Bills to victory.

It’s a tale as old as time. The Cleveland Browns take a quarterback in the draft and the one they do not pick comes back and beats them in spectacular fashion. Sometimes it’s the first NFL game of the season (Carson Wentz in 2016). Other times it is later in the year (Lamar Jackson in 2018). Then there is absolute dominance over the course of a career (Ben Roethlisberger). The only thing about the opposing quarterback in this situation is that the Browns did not draft him. Once they have to face Cleveland they seem to get super powers and play at a level that many do not see coming.

Cleveland’s defense struggles against mobile quarterbacks. This will be no different this Sunday when facing Josh Allen.

The fact that Baker Mayfield has been struggling and things are unraveling as each week passes only sets this up even more. Mayfield went from feeling dangerous to playing disastrous and got dunked on by Macaulay Culkin on twitter earlier this week. All of this points to Josh Allen having a hell of game Sunday.

It almost appears to be destiny that Josh Allen has the opportunity to put the proverbial nail in the coffin of and finally bury the corpse of what has been the 2019 Browns season.

Lincoln Riley may not be best option for Browns

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The Cleveland Browns will most likely be looking for a new head coach. An extremely popular suggestion has been Oklahoma’s Lincoln RIley.

There’s a lot of talk about the replacement for Freddie Kitchens. It is almost a foregone conclusion that he will be gone after the season. A popular suggestion to replace Kitchens is Lincoln Riley.  There has been no official interest from Riley to leave Oklahoma, but the connection between Riley and Baker Mayfield is why the suggestion exists.  Even as attractive as Riley seems, the Cleveland Browns should look elsewhere. 

This is not about the ability of Lincoln Riley. It is 100% about the perception of the players on the team outside of Baker Mayfield. Cleveland already hired a coach because of perceived chemistry with their quarterback. Going back to the well with the exact same process could cause issues in the locker room. The message it will send to everyone else in the locker room is that they do not matter and the only one who does is Mayfield.

Yes, the quarterback is the most important position on the team. Cleveland should find someone who can get the most out of Mayfield. Deciding to pick another coach who has a previous relationship with Baker Mayfield with zero NFL head coaching experience is a mistake. That’s part of the reason the Browns are in the situation they are in now. 

The precedent that would be set by hiring another head coach because of the quarterback could potentially lead to dissent in the locker room. Other players on the Browns are certainly behind Baker Mayfield. The issue is that going down the same road could lead to that changing. Catering to a player that has clearly regressed is not a good way to operate. Questions about the future of Baker Mayfield’s ability as a quarterback have arisen this season. Mayfield has gone from clear franchise quarterback to questionable future in less than a season. If the Cleveland Browns want to set themselves up for future success regardless of the status of Baker Mayfield. Cleveland needs to find a head coach that is not currently coaching the Oklahoma Sooners. 

Macaulay Culkin chimes in on Baker Mayfield

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield looked like a disheveled mess at the postgame press conference after Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos.

Baker Mayfield did indeed shave three times on Sunday, but this is not about that. After Cleveland’s to the Denver Broncos, Baker Mayfield looked a variety of things. A hobo, Randy Marsh from South Park and John Bender from The Breakfast Club were popular choices.

By far the one that got the most traction was The Wet Bandits from Home Alone. All of those comparisons are valid. Macaulay Culkin decided to chime in and have some fun with it. At first it was all fun and games.

Then Culkin followed that up with a predictable shot at Cleveland.

This is where we are at. The Browns are a complete disaster. Freddie Kitchens may be a one and done coach. Baker is not performing up to expectations and his thrown together look for the postgame presser brought an actor that a lot of people forgot about back into the picture. (To be clear I have not forgotten about Macaulay Culkin, I actually find him quite entertaining. The Pizza Underground is a hilarious concept).

Macaulay Culkin making fun of Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns perfectly sums up the disastrous season that has been witnessed. Maybe things will change over the final eight games, but the way things have gone so far that does not seem all that likely. At 2-6 all hopes for the playoffs are all but gone and right now the Browns would have a Top-10 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Browns passing game must be quick, decisive

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The Cleveland Browns will need to utilize a quick and decisive passing attack in their Week 8 matchup with the New England Patriots.

This has been area that has been beaten to death. The Cleveland Browns need to use a quick passing game this week. For some reason, the complete opposite has been used time and time again. The Patriots defense is far and away the best in the league and Cleveland will need to play to their own strengths in order to keep the game competitive.

Baker Mayfield is best when getting the ball out quickly. Mayfield has struggled when tasked when holding the ball and passing downfield. Part of this has been trouble with his own development. The other problem is the offense of Todd Monken combined with a lackluster offensive line. Monken relies on a big plays and would rather not take the methodical approach. The problem with this philosophy? The Patriots do not allow big plays downfield.

These stats from Warren Sharp clearly show that Sam Darnold was more effective with shorter passes than longer passes. Darnold does have his issues with turnovers dating back to his days at USC, but this is still notable. Mayfield has turned the ball over a lot this season, even though not all of them are his fault. Passes bouncing off the hands of his receivers have certainly played a part in his lackluster start.

The Patriots will do two things defensively
  1. Take away Odell Beckham Jr.
  2. Send relentless pressure to make Baker Mayfield feel uncomfortable

The Browns are just going to have to live with OBJ having a rough game. What they can do is try and negate their pass rush. Quick passes can help an offense beat pressure. Not necessarily beat it easily, but much easier than trying to make a big play happen downfield when New England simply does not give them up.

The offensive line will see endless pressure this weekend, as they should. Outside of JC Tretter and Joel Bitonio they have been terrible. Bill Belichick knows this and ensure the other three are given all they can handle. There have been rumblings about the offensive line being shuffled around a bit. There has not been a change on the offensive line yet.

If the Browns go with the Todd Monken approach things will be bad offensively. Downfield passes simply do not happen against New England. A quick and decisive offense will give the Browns a much better chance to make things happen offensively against the best team in football.