Browns end broadcast partnership with SportsTime Ohio
August 3, 2015Next Up: Indians visit the Angels in Anaheim, and where do they go from here?
August 3, 2015It’s time to dive into the Browns and start to figure out what this 2015 Cleveland Browns team can be. This week, I’m going to be picking apart the Browns with the idea that we need to figure out how this team can be successful. I can’t disagree with the Vegas over/under of 6.5 wins, but I think the Browns have the capability to beat that easily. Maybe “easily” is overstating things, but it’s hard for me to look at what we saw from the Browns a year ago and think that this team is worse than the one that started 7-4 a year ago before falling off the edge of the earth and further decimating the relative sanity of the Browns fan base.
Today’s topic is Josh McCown, you know, because quarterbacks are kind of important in the NFL.
The Browns still don’t have a long-term quarterback starting for the team. Josh McCown might play well this season and he might pleasantly surprise some people, but it’s easier to define McCown by who he’s not. He’s not a top 10 NFL quarterback and might not be top 20 either. That should be a limiting factor to the Browns, and it very well might be, but I go back to what Brian Windhorst said about the Cavaliers in the playoffs as the injuries piled up: They could still win, but their margin for error was drastically reduced. The Cleveland Browns come into their season with a drastically reduced margin for error over any team that has a legitimate franchise quarterback. They can enact a game plan every week that will see them win, but every mistake the Browns make costs them more than a team that has a quarterback that can play his team back into it.
In the AFC North, that should actually give you a little bit of hope. The Steelers and Ravens have franchise types, but I’m looking at Cincinnati. Andy Dalton has been able to do just enough to enable his team to make the playoffs in each of the last four years. They have had difficulties advancing, but they made it to the playoffs. I know it’s not the sexiest of rallying cries for your football team, but if the Browns do enough around Josh McCown and don’t ask him to do too much, they very well could make a big jump this year.
How?
On November 23, 2014 the Cleveland Browns were 7-4. They lost five games down the stretch for a variety of reasons from Brian Hoyer and Alex Mack to Josh Gordon’s ill-fated return to the field. Oh and the implosion behind the scenes between Ray Farmer and his coaching staff — one textual message at a time — likely didn’t help either. There was so much that went wrong and it all snowballed. That’s certainly on the table again in 2015, starting directly with the small margin of error that a guy like Josh McCown dictates. Still, it’s important to look and see how the Browns won seven games with five to go.
The Cleveland Browns can start by running the ball. In games they won, the Browns averaged just over 126 yards per game. In losses, the Browns averaged just under 94 yards per game. That 94 yards is even a little worse if you remove games where the Browns almost won, like their furious comeback in the opening week to the Steelers when the Browns gashed Pittsburgh for 191 yards. The Browns also ran for 115 against the Colts, and I’m still upset about that roughing the quarterback call that went against Paul Kruger.
(Actually, if I think about it too long, I get furious. Let’s agree never to speak of it again.)
I know it’s kind of silly to just remove stats that don’t help prove your argument, but it’s important when you dive in to the individual games. The Browns got plastered by the Jags in embarrassing fashion, and that’s in no small part because they only got 69 yards rushing. They had 65 against the Texans and in Johnny Manziel’s debut against Cincy, the Browns rushing attack aided their exposed rookie with only 53 yards. Brutal. When your quarterbacks are Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel, or even Josh McCown, you just have to run the ball. Or, you have to “run the ball” by throwing to your backs and wide receivers in the flats. Point being, you’re not going to ask Josh McCown to do a Peyton Manning impression.
The 2015 Cleveland Browns are simultaneously all about Josh McCown and also need to be zero-percent about Josh McCown. Or at least as close to zero as possible while still winning games. I do believe that the Browns have the capability to be a 10- or 12-win team, but the margin of error is really tiny. They could just as easily hit a skid that they can’t count on Josh McCown to steer them out of. That’s what six-win seasons are made of.
11 Comments
Any updates on Johnson and West?
The Browns final 6 games are absolutely brutal. They can play at a high level without last year’s issues and still lose out. I fear a repeat of last year’s results for a legitimate set of reasons.
I’d take the unknown McCown over Dalton and his contract any day of the week , including Sunday. Flacco and Rothlisburger different story.
Hate to say it, but in this NFL, that’s totally a penalty. Had he gone in “heads up” (which is not a natural thing for a human to do) then a flag would’ve been worth getting upset about.
Injuries are always a concern as well. West and The Duke already hurting doesn’t help anything. But I think it will be hard for McCown to stay on the field all season.
What exactly is it McCown can / cannot do? Don’t tell me about his stats and WL record. What are his strengths and how can he help us win and what are his weaknesses and what can’t he do that’ll make losses more likely? I don’t know. All I know is Hoyer was beyond heinous and sent half the WR corps to the IR.
Strengths: Strong-arm, proto-typical height, stands tall in the pocket.
Weaknesses: inaccurate on short passes, questionable decision-making, immobile, doesn’t protect the ball or downs well.
We don’t have the WR corp to really take advantage of his strengths (slower, shorter, smaller). With Gordon they’d probably hook up on deep bombs a lot.
Hartline is deep threat still. I am interested to see how the WR corps is this year
If Pryor can learn his routes and develop a little technique I think he could be a deep-threat. I am not sure on Hartline since the Dolphins way under-utilized him, hopefully that means he is low-mileage and remains a deep-threat.
Thank you, this gives me an idea what to expect.
That said, Gabriel was open many times last year deep, Hoyer underthrew him or missed him a # of times. I guess we’ll know soon enough.
Don’t count out Bowe moving the chains. He can still get open. Not for long bombs but for 15-20 yds.
Gabriel can go deep too. His smallish size should not hurt accuracy if McCown throws to a spot rather than to the WR.