Cleveland Browns plans versus planners: While We’re Waiting
October 20, 2017Ohio State’s Price, Bosa, and Ward named midseason All-Americans
October 20, 2017Let’s be honest: Since they returned to the NFL in 1999, it seems as though the Cleveland Browns have been in the cellar of the league for the last 18 years. While they have had some success, the Browns have been dismal ever since Harvard decided to invade the front office and Hue Jackson was brought in to be the head coach. The new regime is just 1-21 so far, and things don’t appear to be looking up anytime soon. It’s apparent that they are in rebuilding mode, something that the Browns seem to be in since ’99, but this isn’t an excuse for bad decisions, both in the front office and the coaching staff. The team has done a very poor job at acquiring talent in many positions, two of the most obvious being wide receivers and running backs.
While the Browns are thirsty for playmakers, they seem to have two go-to guys that are currently on the team, and two that are completely underutilized: running back and slot receiver Duke Johnson and tight end David Njoku. With a team that is not only hungry for points and excitement, but one that is searching for a win as well, wouldn’t it be smart to use your top playmakers and have them on the field as much as possible? You’d think so, but Jackson has almost done the opposite, at least through the first six games of the season.
Let’s take a look:
Week 1 vs. Steelers
62 total offensive plays
Johnson: 33 snaps, two touches
- two catches (five targets), 20 yards
Njoku: 29 snaps, two touches
- two catches (two targets), 20 yards
Granted, it’s the first game with a rookie quarterback, but so many questions came from this one, a game that the Browns could have easily won, but lost, 21-18. With just two catches each, Johnson and Njoku had as many catches as starting running back Isaiah Crowell. That’s unacceptable and inexcusable.
Considering it was Kizer’s first game, you’d think that Hue Jackson would set it up so he would be able to complete short passes to his top playmakers and allow them to do the rest of the work. While Corey Coleman had six receptions, that wasn’t the case. The Steelers had seven sacks and yet Jackson still refused to design dink-and-dunk plays to guys like Johnson and Njoku.
Week 2 at Ravens
66 total offensive plays
Johnson: 32 snaps, seven touches
- three catches (six targets), 59 yards
- four carries, 21 yards
Njoku: 34 snaps, three touches
- three catches (four targets), 27 yards, one touchdown
The Browns offense struggled to move the ball against the stout Ravens defense, so much that Kevin Hogan replaced Kizer during the game. Without Coleman, you’d think that Jackson would have designed plays for Johnson and Njoku to utilize their athleticism and playmaking ability, but you though wrong. They had just three catches a piece while the quarterbacks threw four interceptions in the loss at Baltimore.
No. 29 made the most of his opportunities when Kizer did throw his way though. This one was an unreal one-handed catch that he was somehow able to hold on to.
Week 3 at Colts
69 total offensive plays
Johnson: 34 snaps, eight touches
- six catches (seven targets), 81 yards
- two carries, 23 yards, one touchdown
Njoku: 30 snaps, two touches
- two catches (four targets), 12 yards, one touchdown
Hey! Johnson led the team in receptions! It isn’t much of a surprise that the Browns’ biggest scoring output of the season came when their best playmaker had the most catches on the team.
When the Browns offense was stagnant, Johnson did this to prove to everyone that he can make plays by himself.
Week 4 vs. Bengals
61 total offensive plays
Johnson: 27 snaps, 13 touches
- nine catches (10 targets), 47 yards
- four carries, 13 yards, one touchdown
Njoku: 33 snaps, two touches
- two catches (two targets), 11 yards
10 targets is nice, but unfortunately, Johnson couldn’t turn it into much. With that said, it’s baffling to me that Njoku only had two targets, especially because Kizer was struggling so much and the offense only scored seven points in the loss. He struggled so much that Hogan replaced him—again. Are you seeing the trend here? When the Browns top two playmakers aren’t getting the ball or are struggling, the quarterback struggles as well. It isn’t a coincidence.
Week 5 vs. Jets
70 total offensive plays
Johnson: 24 snaps, nine touches
- three catches (three targets), 63 yards, one touchdown
- six carries, 20 yards
Njoku: 35 snaps, three touches
- three catches (three targets), 48 yards, one touchdown
- one carry, one yard
When Ricardo Louis (seven catches) has more catches than Johnson and Njoku had targets combined, there’s a serious. problem and the Browns deserved to lose to the Jets. That’s all.
In the chances that they did get, both Njoku and Johnson made the most of them. This was an incredibly impressive one-handed touchdown catch by the tight end.
For what it’s worth, Johnson gave the Browns a bit of life late in the game on this short screen that he turned into a 41-yard touchdown.
Week 6 at Texans
63 total offensive plays
Johnson: 21 snaps, eight touches
- three catches (five targets), -1 yards
- five carries, 40 yards
Njoku: 26 snaps, two touches
- two catches (five targets), zero yards
Not only did Deshaun Watson prove that the Browns missed on yet another quarterback (just like he has all season), it’s even worse when the loss to the Texans includes yet another game where the Browns’ top playmakers didn’t get the touches that they should have.
Throughout all of this, I didn’t really mention the fact that the two should be playing a lot more snaps than they do, let alone get the ball more. If Jackson wants to keep his job, he needs to start playing his top two (healthy) playmakers on offense and since he’s (somehow) still calling plays, he needs to get them the ball much more often than they do, too. There’s no way that the two should be playing less than half of the team’s plays on offense. It’s almost like Jackson wants the offense to struggle given how he utilizes his playmakers and calls plays.
In the Browns latest lost that came at the hands of Deshaun Watson and the Texans last Sunday, both Johnson (44 percent of snaps) and Njoku (39 percent) recorded a season-low in snaps each. That’s inexcusable. Them not getting the ball enough is one thing, but the two not getting enough playing time is laughable, really. Seth DeValve and Njoku can do some great things in two-tight end sets, make it happen, Hue! It’s almost like Jackson doesn’t want his offense to succeed.
After the game, Jackson mentioned that his tight end played “quite a bit.” I beg to differ, coach.
“He played. He didn’t play the number of snaps he played the weeks before, but he played quite a bit. We missed him three or four times in this game so that was disappointing. We had some special things for him in the game. We weren’t able to get it to him. Those things happen,” Jackson said of his rookie tight end. “I like where David is headed. David has done some really good things. We need to get him the ball more. That is something we will continue to concentrate on as a staff for his growth. I think he is starting to block better. I think he is starting to prepare better. He understands how he fits in the National Football League and he just has to keep growing that way.”
The Browns may be in Year 2 of a rebuild, but the head coach may be on his last leg in terms of keeping his job. He not only has to be a better play-caller, but he also needs to lead this team to a couple victories as well. Somehow, the Browns look worse at times this year than they did last year, and that says a lot. While the struggles on defense can be blamed on Gregg Williams and company, there’s no excuse for Johnson and Njoku not only to play more, but to get the ball more too. Make it happen, Hue Jackson. I promise you won’t regret it.
2 Comments
Come on now, Josh. If these guys start making a lot more plays, then they’re going to want more money some day. And the Sashimetric algorithms say that scatbacks and tight ends are not highly leverageable assets.
Don’t rock the boat, okay? Their underuse is all part of the master plan.