Cleveland Browns Progress Report: Week 1
September 13, 2016Coco to Mingo: The Top 100 Names in Cleveland Sports History
September 13, 2016Would anyone be shocked if Robert Griffin III missed the rest of the season? I’m not pretending to be a doctor here, but there was almost no hesitation by the Cleveland Browns when they decided to put him on injured reserve. He can’t return until late in the season now, and would it be shocking if the fracture of a bone in a quarterback’s shoulder provided just enough complications that he missed an extra few weeks? It’s the most Brownsian Browns thing that’s ever Brownsed, just a year after Josh McCown Brownsed — helicopter-style — in the opening game against the Jets.
It’s a travesty for Griffin, who was looking to resurrect his career as an NFL starter and maybe even a star. If RG3 can’t play again this year, what are the chances the Browns even let him see the second year of the deal with his cap hit of just over $8.5 million and over $6.8 mil in savings if they cut him? Not good, I wouldn’t think. In less than one game, the RG3 experiment in Cleveland might be officially over. It’s not shocking — nothing is when it comes to the Browns — but it’s kind of insane when you really think about it. If you had to put $50 on it, which way would you bet?
Where do we go from here?
To Josh McCown of course…
I’ve been on record saying there is absolutely no reason to see Josh McCown take another snap with the Cleveland Browns. I say that not because McCown isn’t a good backup quarterback. I say that because there’s no future for him with the Browns. In the same way that Karlos Dansby was better than many alternatives, McCown is as well. Neither one will be in the league the next possible season when the Browns can potentially be competitive. Also, we kind of know that he isn’t an NFL starter by this point. If the Browns had any possible option with any actual potential to become a full-time NFL starter, it would arguably be a better use of their time and effort to play that guy over McCown.
The good news is that Josh McCown might be better than RG3. There’s no future in it and I don’t know what it really gets you, but after watching Griffin for one week, there’s little reason to think that McCown couldn’t give them a better chance to win, you know, presuming he makes it through the game in one piece.
Which brings us to Cody Kessler…
Hue Jackson told us to trust him on Cody Kessler, but at least at this point, Jackson doesn’t trust the rookie from USC. The kid had an awful preseason, which doesn’t matter, necessarily, except these are the Browns and of course the third quarterback on the depth chart matters. Ask rookie Colt McCoy how that works out.
None of this is to say that Cody Kessler can’t learn, get better and maybe someday even find a career as a starter in the NFL. It’s simple math based on how far he seems to have to go, the chances that he can get there, and how short the time might be before the Browns need him. It’s an evil equation for Kessler and the Browns.
Speaking of the Browns…
The Cleveland Browns front office and coaching staff might as well be under indictment already, at least for some fans. Between the Browns laying a Week 1 egg, and Carson Wentz scrambling and eating that egg as the opposing quarterback, it feels like chaos all over again. I don’t actually believe these are much more than storylines, however.
RG3’s injury — while unfortunate on all levels — actually provides some cover to both the front office and the Browns’ coaching staff. If they bet on RG3, and he performs horribly and has to be benched, that’s far worse for them than the poor guy getting injured on the field. Whether you want to call it “tanking” or “rebuilding,” this Browns team didn’t care that much about winning this season. Now, there’s even more of an excuse to work on “developing” players, and whether the team can collect Ws makes even less of a difference. Losing with Josh McCown or Cody Kessler at the helm is different than losing with RG3. I don’t have any sources, but I think if you could get a private, honest moment with someone from the Browns’ front office, they’d like to see the Browns win one or two games to avoid going winless, and play better and more competitively as the season moves along.
Regardless, from a PR standpoint, the Browns are better off today respecting their short-term strategy, and not pissing off their customers.
Which brings us to the home opener…
Show up early for your tailgate and don’t get precious about leaving early. These Cleveland Browns were two-point underdogs before RG3 went to the IR and are now 6.5-point dogs at home. It’s either an incredible buying opportunity or the Browns really did just become a much worse bet to beat those hated Ravens.
There’s a chance the Browns are better for a week with McCown than they were with Griffin, but will “better” be enough for the Browns to beat the Ravens. Clevealnd beat Baltimore in overtime once last year, before losing to them on November 30 thanks to that kick six. The Ravens are coming off a Week 1 barn burner win over the Bills, 13-7, where six combined points were scored in quarters 1, 3 and 4. The Ravens held the Bills to just 160 yards on Week 1, getting to Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor twice. If the Browns’ offense doesn’t improve from it’s stagnant Week 1 state, they could certainly be in for a long Sunday.
75 Comments
good luck to the Indians … GO TIGERS !!!!
You are forgetting Romeo wanted the pass rusher, so Savage took Wimbley over Ngata
I would so love for Josh McCown to wear a beanie with the coptor blades on the top to the postgame press conference this week.
Ya, but instead it will be Erving in La-La-Land spinning around like he’s in the Sound of Music
https://media.giphy.com/media/ceLygpJHjm3te/giphy.gif
I have been skeptical of him making it that far all summer. Remember, he has done exactly what he did on Sunday against the Eagles once before. The only difference was that this time he hit with his shoulder instead of his head.
https://usatthebiglead.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/rg3-down-2-10-7-12.gif?w=1000
I may not look like much to you now, but I’ve been drinking milk…
I could never ever forget that. Because Savage wisely TRADED that pick to the Ravens to hand them Ngata, filching the saps mercilessly. And that extra 6th rounder gave us … Baba Oshinowo, a powerful Somali warlord (but alas, a woeful lineman).
I wonder what the writers at Warner Brothers were smoking when they came up with the idea for that contraption. Riding a zip line upside down and backwards on a wheel attached to your helmet? How has the X-Games not grabbed this yet.
If Robert had been allowed to fit wheels to his helmet I am sure he would try it. I can picture him, and no one else, rolling, backwards and upside down, along the sideline in a mad dash for the first down.
Actually, I think they got rid of the emergency QB thing a couple of years ago.
As if that would be different for Kessler.
I’ll play contrarian here. I see Browns winning this week, winning 5-7 games overall, and getting better and better over season:
* McCown is better than RG3, our weapons on O are much better than last year, and Hue is a good offensive coach. Offense will surprise people, especially when Gordon comes back.
* D looked good in spots last week, and will get better over season with so many youngs. Especially if Haden stays healthy and makes steady progress.
Except….. I was down in Charlotte when Mike Vick was absolutely destroying the NFC South. He’s 6 foot 210. RGIII is 6’2 220. Very similar skill sets and it took Vick a while to run an offense. Granted injuries have hurt him but so has Romo, Bradford and Big Ben is good for 6 weeks off a year. Not saying you’re wrong, but I can understand an NFL coach wanting that skill set. Yeah is was a huge risk, but they set up his contract to get out of it early and they are going to be $100M under the cap next year.
I posted this at OBR and got torched by some, but Brissett was the guy they wanted. They passed on Prescott twice and traded the pick that was Cook. They probably had Prescott off their board because of the DUI. They could have taken Brissett in the 3rd and instead traded down with the Panthers behind the Pats. When the Pats took him, Kessler was the last QB they wanted so they grabbed him there. That trade netted them Kessler and Kindred. I would rather have Brissett, and is why I have a problem with them trading down so often. IMHO, they traded out of 2 QB picks this year.
And when he’s inactive on Sunday’s, he can hit color rush baseballs into the stands!
but haven’t you always felt that RGIII was just a guy who would sell tickets and mostly not embarrass himself? I mean, if he gets hurt, fine, but he won’t embarrass himself. At least I always felt that way. Nobody is winning any super bowls with RGIII at the helm. Not even the 2000 Ravens.
Again, it wasn’t necessarily a “pass” on Wentz, but a choice to take the multitude of draft picks instead of him. I still stand by that deal.
gotta be fair to RGIII – he was pushed frm obehind by the defender, so he wasn’t in total control. I don’t think he meant to take that guy on.
I can’t see Griffin in Cleveland for $8.5million next year.
It would be Ball and it would be Juice. Ball and Juice.
(google it and josh mcdaniels, if you don’t know)
check the video – he was pushed from behind right before impact.
hard to find a good angle on the net, but easy to see on tv.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000701223/article/browns-place-robert-griffin-iii-on-injured-reserve
I was hoping they would grab Dak Prescott later based on early draft reports.
I will be at the game deep frying a ratbird (well a turkey, ravens probably don’t taste too good). We have a Navigator painted orange with a browns stripe down the middle. Taking my 7 yo to his first game.
Enjoy the game and please share some pics here if you can (or send them to me, I’d love to include a couple in my Browns post next week).
Agree with much of your paragraph 1. Maybe disagree some about the Vick similarity, because I saw Vick as someone not only with blazing speed but also RB micro-moves who made people miss in tight spaces, Houdini-like. And I still didn’t think much of him because he can barely read (a defense) and that always catches up with him. What I see from Griffin is this: like my great dane, he has incredible straight line speed but little maneuverability, and no natural instinct to protect himself. And like my canine, couldn’t read a stop sign. He simply doesn’t look at the middle of the field, either in preseason or last Sunday.
Money is the one thing we aren’t lacking.