Tag Archives: Mike Priefer

Just what are the Browns at the bye?

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What exactly are the Cleveland Browns?

There are times such as Monday night that the Cleveland Browns look like they are a complete unit and play competitively against any team in the league. There are other games which they appear to be outmatched and outcoached with no business being on the field. This high level of variance makes evaluating this team particularly difficult.

Offense

Offensively they have shown to be an efficient unit that can put up points. Cleveland’s 25 points per game is tied for sixth in the league as their rushing attack ranks third (164.6 YPG) and passing game is 19th (221.1 YPG).

The Browns offense was the side of the ball that most were concerned with coming into the season. This was due to having Deshaun Watson suspended for 11 games and having to roll with Jacoby Brissett as their quarterback. Brissett has performed admirably and given Cleveland plenty of opportunities to win games, even with his tendency to have the occasional cringeworthy play.

Luckily this side of the ball features the NFL’s best running back in Nick Chubb. Chubb leads the league in rushing (841 yards), rushing touchdowns (10), and rushes for 20 or more yards (9). If Cleveland is going to somehow remain relevant this season it will have to be on the back of Chubb.

Also helping their cause is the performance of Amari Cooper. Cooper has been better than anyone could have imagined with 39 receptions for 553 yards and five touchdowns. Currently Cooper is on pace to have one on his better seasons. If he is able to continue at his current pace Cooper would finish with 83 receptions for 1,174.7 yards, and 11 touchdowns, a new high for touchdowns by three.

Cleveland’s offensive performance week in and week out is far from the biggest issue here. While game plan can be questionable at times, it has largely been successful.

Defense

This is where things turn sour. The Browns defense is allowing 24.9 points per game which is the sixth-most in the league. While it is just under Cleveland’s offensive output average, that is due to a couple lopsided games (both ways) and four of their five losses coming by just nine points. The yards per game departments do not appear to be all that bad, 331.4 total (12th-fewest), 208.3 passing (12th-fewest), and 123.1 rushing (13th-most), this is a case of yards per game numbers not telling the whole story.

There are plenty of marquee names on this defense and on paper they look to be one of the better teams in the league there are clear issues. The names on the Browns defense suggest it should be a better unit, but they have usually been a disappointment this season. Blame falls on multiple fronts here. From Andrew Berry to Joe Woods to the players themselves. Berry did not address the defensive interior in an adequate manner. Woods’ scheme and coaching has been a disaster. The players have blown coverages and appear lost on a near weekly basis. This is a problem and will continue to be until it is addressed in an adequate manner.

The only saving grace for this side of the ball is Myles Garrett. Garrett’s 7.5 sacks is fifth in the league, and eight tackles for loss ranks fourth. The performance of Garrett each and every week keeps this Cleveland defense from being completely useless.

Special teams

The Brown special teams continue to be less than special. Penalties at crucial times, blocked/tipped kicks, and bad decisions in the return game have been Mike Preifer’s calling card. To be blunt Priefer is bad at his job and should no longer be employed.

Coaching

This is where things get tricky. Kevin Stefanski is an excellent play and scheme designer. Play-calling is certainly above average. This may not be the most popular statement, but in game decision making and overall management of the game is incredibly average. There are times when it appears that Stefanski just lacks a feel for the game. With the way the Browns go about their business feel is not something that will be taken into account very often. The result is a lot of advanced metrics that absolutely love their decision making even though it can be questionable at times. Overall Stefanski appears to be a solid coach with areas he is strong in and others that need improvement.

Outlook

Cleveland is 3-5 and have three tough games on their schedule following their bye. The Browns will take on Miami and Buffalo on the road before coming home to face Tampa Bay. These are not games that Cleveland should be favored in and for good reason. These are clearly superior opponents who will likely give the Browns more than they can handle. Should Cleveland somehow win one or even two of these games things will get interesting. Watson returns in Week 13 as they embark on a slightly less difficult stretch against Houston, Cincinnati, Baltimore, New Orleans, Washington, and Pittsburgh, four of which are on the road.

The win over Cincinnati certainly gives Cleveland some life, but the early inexcusable losses may have put them too far behind the eight ball to go on a meaningful six-game run with Watson.

Browns need accountability now

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Someone must be held accountable for the collapse in the Cleveland Browns 31-30 loss to the New York Jets.

The final two minutes of Sunday’s contest was an unmitigated disaster as the Cleveland Browns blew a 13-point lead to the New York Jets, losing by a final score of 31-30. This was a loss that should not have happened and people must be held accountable. Kevin Stefanski is not the person who is being referenced here. The people in question? Joe Woods, Jeff Howard, and Mike Priefer.

Let’s start with Woods.

Woods is the easy scapegoat here due to the Browns defensive collapse. As the defensive coordinator the failure of this unit ultimately falls on him. Coverage busts and miscommunication have been a theme early in the season as the defense has given up long touchdowns in two consecutive games.

When the defense is not all on the same page and it results in a long touchdown late in the game the fault ultimately lands on his doorstep.

In fact this is not the first time that the defense has come under fire. In fact it was just last year that Myles Garrett called out Woods for his lack of adjustments in the Browns lopsided loss to the Patriots. There is a common theme here and it is the scheme of Woods.

Giving up a game-winning drive to Joe Flacco in 2022 is unacceptable. Cleveland’s defense nearly did the same the week prior to Baker Mayfield, but Woods’ unit was bailed out by Jacoby Brissett and more notably Cade York. The reality is that Woods is more than likely out of a job if the Browns offense did not come to his rescue in Carolina.

What about Howard?

Jeff Howard is the Browns defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator. Considering the common issue in the first two weeks this seems like a logical choice of someone to hold accountable a.k.a. fire. The fact that the secondary is not on the same page communication wise is a major problem.

The Browns defense is not having an issue of pressuring the quarterback as they rank high in pressure percentage. Cleveland’s issue is covering receivers and if the secondary cannot cover pressure does not matter and that is the case here.

Cleveland’s pass coverage has been a disaster so far and it would make sense that Howard would be the individual held accountable here. That being said this would be a temporary solution (possibly) to a much larger problem and not solve anything long term.

Priefer problems

The special teams units of Mike Priefer have been incredibly underwhelming since he came to town. From return units to the debacle that was the failed onside kick recovery in Sunday’s loss, Priefer has not lived up to the reputation he had prior to coming over from Minnesota. If there was a time to cut ties with someone who should not have been hired to begin with now is the time. There are no excuses to not be prepared for the onside kick at the end of the game and yet here we are.

One more group

There is one more group not yet mentioned that needs to take accountability, the players. It is easy to omit them when discussing failures such as this. To pass the buck to the coaching staff to give them 100% of the blame. However, it is still up to the players to execute when it matters most and not make game altering mistakes.

It is also worth mentioning that perhaps the Browns defense is not as good as some make them out to be. Throughout the broadcast there were numerous mentions of how this was a Top 5 unit a year ago, but the display over the final two minutes combined with the performance last week indicates a very underwhelming unit. John Johnson, Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome, and Grant Delpit are expected to perform at a certain level. Right now what is supposed to be one of the better groups of players on this roster is not performing like it and that simply cannot happen.

At the end of the day accountability must happen

It may be just a touch unrealistic to expect changes this week due to the short turnaround. The Browns host the Steelers Thursday and making coaching changes in a condensed week is a big ask for a unit that is currently reeling. The fact of the matter is that win or lose something must happen following Thursday’s contest. Having the extended timeframe to make the necessary adjustments for their Week 4 contest in Atlanta would be a more ideal scenario. Continuing to use a coaching system that is not working will not lead to victories and could later result in wholesale changes being made.

Browns keep Mike Priefer, Doug Colman

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The Cleveland Browns have decided to keep special teams coordinator Mike Priefer and assistant Doug Colman. 

This is a decision that seemed more than likely to happen. The Cleveland Browns retaining their special teams coordinator Mike Priefer and assistant Doug Colman. Priefer and Colman both came to Cleveland before the 2019 season. 

Doug Colman played for the Browns for one season (2000). Colman was an assistant in Dallas and Houston before being hired in Cleveland. 

The Priefer decision is hardly surprising. Priefer previously coached with Kevin Stefanski in Minnesota. There is familiarity between the two and that seems to ultimately have played a factor. Cleveland is looking for organizational alignment and retaining Priefer points in that direction.

Mike Priefer helped improve the Browns special teams unit in 2019. Cleveland went from one of the worst to middle of the pack last season. That’s a huge improvement, but when you start near the bottom it’s hard not to move up the rankings list. Priefer receives a ton of praise for his work, but he still couldn’t get Dontrell Hilliard to make the right decision on kickoff returns. Hilliard would routinely take the ball out of the end zone and get stopped short of the 25 yard line. Priefer being unable to fix that for 15 games is a little bit concerning. 

Browns hire of Mike Priefer is unacceptable

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The problem with the Cleveland Browns hiring Mike Priefer goes beyond football.

The reason why the Browns hire of Mike Priefer is an issue is not production related, it is not X’s and O’s related. It is an issue with remarks from the former Vikings coordinator that are completely awful. Former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe brought to light the insensitive remarks from Priefer, which were later confirmed.

“We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows.”

These types of remarks are completely unacceptable. Now quickly after the hire of Priefer was made these quotes resurfaced. Predictably people were quick to defend Priefer. Making terrible excuses of people change and these comments are from years ago. Regardless of when Priefer said the indefensible comments, they are absolutely vile. Priefer is a grown man and statements as awful as this do not just magically disappear. Priefer most likely holds the same views but no longer vocalizes them. Well at least no one has come forward with information regarding a similar incident.

This is not a situation where an apology makes things better. The fact of that matter is Priefer advocated for and supported the death of an entire demographic of people. There is not an excuse for these comments.

The error of the Cleveland Browns and the NFL

The Cleveland Browns made a major error. Although Mike Priefer has a history of being significantly better than the previous special teams coordinators, the team chose to overlook the obvious issues with his hire. Bringing the Cleveland native on to the coaching staff is a feel good story. After looking into his past this feel good story turns sour real quick. Rather than hiring someone without Priefer’s anti-LGBT history, the team overlooked an obvious issue and hired him anyway.

The NFL often plays games when it comes to morality. This is not solely a John Dorsey issue. The league and teams often choose to look the other way in certain areas. The nuking of gays needs to be an area that is not looked away from. Statements like Priefer’s should have resulted in immediate termination and excluded from further coaching forever. Instead the Browns have their new special teams coordinator.

It is not realistic to expect the Cleveland Browns to dismiss their new hire, even though they should. The NFL stepping in and stopping the hire is also unrealistic as the league allowed Priefer to keep his previous job in Minnesota. All Priefer experienced was an all too brief suspension, not nearly enough for how terrible his comments were.

Mike Priefer should not have been able to continue coaching in Minnesota. Mike Priefer should not have been eligible for a position with another team, but the reality is the NFL and the Browns do not care. The hire of Priefer only further solidifies the commitment to insensitivity from teams, the NFL and acceptance of bigotry as long as it results in more money for the people at the top.