Brian Hartline’s promotion to Ohio State’s full-time WRs coach is well deserved
December 10, 2018Ranking the Cleveland Browns cornerstone players
December 11, 2018I barely had time to realize what had happened. After years (and years) of the Cleveland Browns opening drive starting with either a run designed to gain two or three yards, or a quick pass designed to get four or five, I looked away for a brief moment only to have the roar of FirstEnergy Stadium force my head to whip around. The Browns had led the Carolina Panthers march right down the field on the shoulders of Christian McCaffrey1 so it had all the ingredients of it being one of those kind of days. Baker Mayfield had other ideas.
Had Breshad Perriman stayed in stride, the Browns were looking at a very quick six (more on this later), but instead relied on some more new-wave play calling (more on this later as well) to find the end zone.
If there has been any overarching theme to these weekly columns, it’s clearly one of disbelief. What transpired on Sunday—what with the Browns coming back to tie the game on three separate occasions before taking control and icing the victory—is just not something Browns fans are used to. One of our most-read stories to date comes in the way of all the way the Browns have lost games in the final moments; we’re simply not used to missed extra points not mattering in the end.
While the Browns’ 26-20 victory on Sunday was a confluence of events, ranging from the Panthers’ inability to execute all the way to the discussion that the best quarterback on the field on Sunday may have been wearing a Cleveland jersey, it continues to be another chapter being penned in the book of the John Dorsey Browns. It’s tough to find a happier five-win fan base on the planet than the one you’ll find in frigid Cleveland this Monday morning.
WINNER: Baker Mayfield
To be clear, it may not be a good thing—just ask the Jets who seem to be on Primetime every week—but the Browns will be represented multiple times in the evening in 2019. While the requisite Thursday night game will still be there, I fully expect the Browns to have a Sunday night and Monday night slot next season, and this is because of one Baker Mayfield. Yes, the team is improved all around, but the face of the team is always the quarterback. And breaking news: The Browns have one who is not only good, but really freaking fun to watch.
Of his four incomplete passes on Sunday afternoon, one was a dropped ball that hit Rashard Higgins in the hands (more to come here) and the other was a throw-away to avoid lost yards. As has been shared by multiple folks by this point, Mayfield’s 121.8 passer rating over the last four contests is third in the NFL. He’s ahead of guys like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, and Drew Brees. His 75 percent completion rate during that stretch is the best in the NFL, almost as if the skill set he was drafted for was one that transcends college football.
According to Jason Lloyd at The Athletic, teams have gone from attempting to treat Baker like a rookie, blitzing him left and right, to pumping the breaks and giving him similar treatment to those quarterbacks listed above. That right there may be the biggest compliment of them all.
WINNER: Gregg Williams
For as much as the Cleveland Browns were out-schemed and out-played during their Week 13 loss to the Houston Texans, Williams didn’t let thing unravel into the next week. For as poor as the tackling was in certain instances, Williams didn’t change schemes or packages, allowing the game to essentially end with a defensive stand late in the fourth quarter against one of the best goal-to-go teams in the league.
It’s tough to not want to upgrade even more this offseason, but for all the talking heads and folks who were panning the Browns for elevating Williams to head coach, the man with three Gs in his first name is the one having the last laugh. At least for now.
“Is there any doubt how good we can be?” pic.twitter.com/w7RC8UpEI7
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 9, 2018
WINNER: Freddie Kitchens
Watch this play below and tell me that something like this has ever entered into the mind of Hue Jackson.
https://twitter.com/Browns/status/1071831619609088000
WINNERS: Jarvis Landry and Breshad Perriman
During his press conference following the game, Baker Mayfield said his mind-blowing touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry was a 50-50 ball. According to NextGen stats, however, Mayfield had a 15 percent chance of completing the pass, scrambling 14.9 yards, throwing the ball in the air for 50 more, and having just 0.6 yards of separation on the receiving end.2
“I guess waking up feeling dangerous is contagious,” Landry said following the win. “We found ways to play as a team—I think that’s the biggest thing everyone should take away from this game. We found ways to make more plays than they did. We had each others’ back.”
https://twitter.com/Browns/status/1071841218059882496
Specific to Perriman, it will never be about the number of plays. The Browns have volume players in Landry and Nick Chubb. Perriman is the type of player who was drafted to stretch the field and make the most out of his targets, and he did just that. Whether it was the first play of the game where he had three yards of separation downfield or bailing out his quarterback late in the fourth quarter when they needed to get a first down, the one-time Raven did just that.
LOSER: Rashard Higgins
Tough day for the second-year wide receiver who had a dropped pass and then was chased down by Luke Keuchly on what was a simple bubble screen deep in Browns territory, eventually losing control of the ball.
WINNER: Myles Garrett
Myles Garrett is a disruptive force of nature. He’s the only player in the NFL this season with consecutive games of 11 or more pressures. He’s the only defensive end to bring down a quarterback in less than two seconds. Through his first 23 games as a professional, he has 19.5 sacks, most of which while being double-teamed or shaded with a running back.
As our own Michael Bode tweeted Sunday afternoon, Garrett is three sacks away from moving into the top 10 all-time for the Browns franchise. He’s already past (Hall of Fame-eligible) Clay Matthews for a single-season, which leaves him only behind Jamir Miller (13 sacks in 2001) and Reggie Camp (14 sacks in 1984) for the franchise high. He’s 22 years old.——
LOSERS: Those panning Garrett for a perceived lack of dominance
It would appear that those who wanted to run to social media or call in to radio talk shows to discuss how Joe Thomas is no longer elite (despite him clearly, you know, being elite) have turned their attention to one Myles Garrett. Garrett, meanwhile, has 13 sacks—just one fewer than Von Miller for second in the NFL—while being seventh in hits and pressures.
For those attempting to compare Garrett to Miller or Khalil Mack, it’s worth noting that the Browns’ edge rusher has twice as many sacks per game than Mack through their first 22 games (.77 vs. .31) and more forced fumbles than both Mack and Miller through that same 22-game stretch.3 Fewer takes are more egregious than inferring Garrett hasn’t been a star.
A word from the players:
Great team win, offense picked it us up when we needed it, and the defense picked up the offense when they did. #GoBrowns
— Joe Schobert (@TheSchoGoesOn53) December 9, 2018
Who gon stop us now….. aaaaa shoutout to the dawg pound I told you we stealing hashtags #keeppounding… #DawgPound #StayTuned
— TJ Carrie (@tj_carrie) December 9, 2018
Great Team Win!!!!
— Christian Kirksey (@Kirko58) December 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/denzelward/status/1071874872329027585
And now, the fans:
W: "desperation" throws after pocket collapses into double coverage 50 yds downfield.
W: Myles Garrett (at the moment) SECOND in NFL in sacks.
L: All of us who thought that point we lost in the 4th quarter was going to cost us (guilty!).
W: GreggW! more Ws than Hue in 2018.
— michael bode (@mgbode_WFNY) December 9, 2018
B. Perriman. I actually want him on our team next year. He ran away from an nfl cornerback on his first catch, then made a huge play for the first down when we were pinned late
— big time tommy (@cozz_tello) December 9, 2018
Winner: Jarvis Landry. Woke up dangerous-er than normal, it seems.
Winner: Motion on offense. The Browns offense is full of tricks and misdirection now that Freddie is in charge. The league is having trouble with it and it's so fun to watch.
— Jason Hurley (@GreatestHurley) December 10, 2018
Winner: Juice Landry, for drawing another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a defender, like the cagey veteran he is.
Winner: S Mike Adams, for still being in the NFL at 37.
— Peter Wells (@clevelandminion) December 9, 2018
—Losers—
Higgins (game could’ve been iced by the third Q)
Duke (gets no run)
Schobert (if you can’t tackle as an LB….)
Hue Jackson (perpetually)—Winners—
Baker,
Jarvis,
Coaching staff,
Luke Kuechly (he’s incredible)— Alcawyn Simpel (@alcawyn) December 10, 2018