Category: Featured

Another week, another loss for the 2017 Cleveland Browns.  The Browns traveled to Detroit this Sunday to make some NFL history.  They haven’t won a game on Sunday since, well a long ass fucking time.

Last years win over the San Diego Chargers was on a Saturday, so that one doesn’t count. The Browns have failed to win on a Sunday since 2015.  Miserable is the only way to describe it.  Being a fan of a bad team is hard.  Being fan of a team as bad as the Browns? 1000 times harder.  It flat out sucks.

This one started out great.  The Browns got up on the Lions early.  The defense dug in to make stops, and the office was able to piece together two scoring drives.  It wasn’t pretty, but they were up 10-0 through the first quarter of play.

At the end of the first quarter Matt Stafford engineered a field goal drive to cut the lead to 10-3.  Later, Ameer Abdullah rushed 8 yards to tie the score at 10.  Just like that the lead was gone.  On the ensuing possession, Seth Devalve caught a laser from Kizer, cut up-field, and Lions defender Kevin Lawson punched the ball from Devalve’s arm.  The ball bounced right back into Lawson’s hands, and he took it 44 yards up the sideline to the house.  17-10 Lions.

Things seemed like they could be different on this Sunday, as rookie DeShone Kizer lead a two minute drive down to the Detroit 2 yard line with about 20 seconds left in the half. What happened next cannot even be made up.  The Browns were out of timeouts, it was second and goal, and Kizer decided to sneak it up the middle.  He was stuffed.  Not only was he stuffed, but there was a massive pile of players on top of him.  The clocked ticked as the wreckage cleared.  They were not able to make it back to the line of scrimmage in time to spike the ball.  31 of 32 NFL teams manage points in that situation.  The Browns got 0.  17-10 Lions at the half.

Still, all was not lost.  In the second half the Browns continued to fight hard.  They even regained the lead at one point in the third quarter.  With the Browns up 24-17 the Lions rattled off 21 straight points to close the game.

 

This one hurt.  They all do, equally.  Each loss adds weight to the pain.  There is a silver lining for some fans who want the number 1 overall draft pick, however fuck that.  I don’t want the number 1 pick.  I want a competitive football team that can win some fucking football games.  It’s definitely nice to have high draft selections, but teams like the Patriots, and Steelers continuously prove that you can draft in the 20’s-30’s consistently and win.

5 positives:

1. Defense is still decent enough.  They struggled at times in this one, but in general made enough plays to get a win.  Jamie Collins got an INT, and Jason McCourty continued his Pro-Bowl calibre play. (Th
2. DeShone Kizer registered his best performance as a pro.  He went 21-37 for 232 yards, and 1 touchdown.  Kizer also added 57 yards, and 1 td through the ground.
3. The ground game got going a bit.  Crow registered his best game of 2017 with 90 yards on 16 carries.  He averaged a shade under 6 yards a carry.
4. Kenny Britt caught a touchdown pass? I guess that was cool?
5. Hue Jackson apparently fell on the sword for his young rookie QB.  Hue took responsibility for the QB sneak debacle.  After the game  Seth Devalve was quoted in saying, “”We had a different play called, and DeShone took it upon himself to sneak it,” DeValve said. “That wasn’t a bad thing to do, but we didn’t get it and that’s unfortunate.”  How nice of you Hue.

 

To finish it off lets take a quick glimpse at what hurts the most for a Browns fan after another brutal loss:

WHAT THE FUCK MAN?!? I think Glover needs to be checked into one of those sideline medical tents.  I think being in the top 8 is a bit of a reach, but seeing other compliment on the teams overall talent in this way makes me sick.  What the fuck is it then?

Yup that’s why.  Fire Hue.

CONSENSUS PICKS:   40-15 (LW: 4-1)

CONSENSUS PICKS:  TEN, PIT, DET, JAX, LAR, NE, CAR

In a surprising move, the Green Bay Packers have released tight-end Martellus Bennett.  The 10 year veteran signed a 3 year, $21 million deal this off season.  Bennett, has under performed this year ]– played 7 games for the Packers hauling in 24 catches for 233 yards and 0 touchdowns.

Bennett has indicated that he would retire at the end of this year, but this move is still surprising. Now that he is a FA, a possible landing spot/reunion could be in New England, where they are running out of healthy WR’s and could benefit from running a two TE set. If NE were to bring back Bennett, I would imagine they would release Dwayne Allen who has been a no show all year and keep rookie Jacob Hollister as the #3 TE. With that said, him landing back in NE is a long shot. A more likely landing spot is a team like Pittsburgh or Jacksonville.

Well.  How have we gotten here?  How has it gotten this bad?  It’s been awhile since I’ve last written about my beloved Browns.  This year has been extra painful.  The signs of a competitive team were there.  It all came crashing down thanks to Jacoby Brissett and the Indianapolis Colts.  In the second quarter of the Browns week three matchup with Indy, the Colts rattled off 21 unanswered points in the second quarter.  The halftime score was 28-7 Colts.  The Browns were able to make it a game but ultimately ended up falling short, mostly in part to the fact that Hue Jackson is quite simply the worst head coach of all time.  The Browns were mounting a comeback in the second half, slowly chipping away at the game — when this asshole blows all his timeouts prior to the fourth quarter even starting.  They managed to get within one possession, but it was simply too late.  Without any timeouts, Brissett ran out the clock for a 31-28 Colts win.

Week 3 was it.  That was the game that put it all in perspective.  They suck.  Miserably.  At times they look worse than last years 1-15 squad.  The talent is so barren at many crucial positions.

Last week was turmoil to the 10th degree.  The Browns allegedly botched a last minute trade deadline deal for AJ McCarron.  There has been a reported riff between the front office and coaching staff.  It all came to boil when the Patriots traded Jimmy Garappolo to the 49ers.  The Browns wanted him badly, and the coaches were upset that the front office was apparently home unaware of the Jimmy G trade.

Luckily last week was their scheduled bye week after a beatdown in London.  0-8 is where this squad stands.  No end in sight, or is there?

Josh Gordon is back!  The only good news of the season to date. Gordon has been conditionally reinstated, and allowed to participate in team activities.  He’s able to hit the practice field on 11/22, and eligible to play by week 12.

Boy do we need a weapon.  A guy who can run the fuck by you, around you, or through you.  Gordon can do it all.  He’s just a supreme athlete.  Naturally better than everyone else.

The last time Josh attempted a comeback was in 2016.  He attempted to comeback after missing two seasons due to suspension.  He played in one preseason game — and he made a miraculous catch with Brent Grimes all over him.

After two years of sitting on his ass:

I’m not expecting Josh to return to his 2013 form.  It was that year, in which he looked like a future hall of famer.  However, I do have hope that he can still be very good and contribute.  He has natural gifts, and he’s not going to be stoned this time (allegedly).

The Browns will have second year wideout Corey Coleman returning by week 11 to solidify the beat up receiving group.  Lets hope that Njoku, Johnson, Crowell,  Coleman, and Gordon can be true weapons for Kizer.   Kizer has all the ability, and none of the talent around him to succeed.  The group isn’t great, but those guys are all weapons.  They should all be able to contribute and carry a portion of the load.

This season has been miserable so far.  8 weeks to go, and a shot to wipe the slate clean.  The Browns will open up the second half against the Lions this week, at Ford Field.  Should be a tough game considering the Lions are coming off a big (not really) win at Lambeau Field.  It’d be great if they could squeak out a couple of wins to end this thing off right, but I won’t hold my breath.  The goal is 4.  Get to 4-12 if it all possible.  If not, go 1-15. 2-14, or 0-16 to lock up the first pick and go from there.

Fuck me.