Browns: Two Games In, Two Quarterbacks Down, and Carson Wentz
Let’s Wait A Few Years, Not Two Games
In five years, the success or failure of Wentz will factor into the success or failure of the current Browns regime. Also factoring into that judgement will be the career of Coleman. Not to mention the other players picked with the plethora of picks the Browns picked up in trading the 2016 second overall pick.
Cleveland will also be judged by the quarterback they choose to lead this team in the future. Whether that is Griffin, Kessler, or someone like Clemson’s DeShaun Watson in the 2017 draft, the success of these quarterbacks against Wentz will be the biggest factor in determining analytics success.
According to many, the Browns analytics worked against drafting Wentz in the 2016 draft. Our own Nick Dudukovich pointed in an earlier article, that the Browns fired some of the scouts that preferred Wentz for pure football reasons.
Related Story: Browns Fired Scouts Who Favored Wentz
On Sunday, the Browns will be starting their third quarterback of the season. Meanwhile, Wentz is coming off a Monday Night Football game that has analysts raving about his talents while his Eagles are off to a 2-0 start.
While it is unfair to compare Kessler to Wentz, many Browns fans will be doing that on Sunday. They’ll know what Wentz did to Cleveland a week ago, and what he did on Monday night. They saw what was possible. Of course it’s early, but should Kessler look bad on Sunday, doubts about the regime’s ability to draft a quarterback will set in.
No one outside of the organization truly sees Kessler as the franchise quarterback of the future. Yet he was the guy Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson took in the third round of the draft, ahead of Dallas’ Dak Prescott who is playing very good. So there will be comparisons there as well.
However, Browns fans shouldn’t jump ship on the new regime just yet. Remember that this is a process. This is the first time since 1999 that the Browns are actually blowing it all up.
Some regimes claimed they were doing that, but then went out and filled the roster with band-aid veterans and panicked during the draft to take quarterbacks based off best available.
To this regime’s credit, they’ve replaced almost the entire front office, scouting staff, coaching staff (minus Special Teams Coordinator Chris Tabor), and overhauled the entire roster. They cut costly underperforming veterans, traded young players who had stalled in their development, and actually used the majority of their draft picks to replace a quarter of the roster.
Remember that we once hated former President Mike Holmgren for not going all in on RG3 after his first season. While it’s not the greatest example, it’s the fact that running back Trent Richardson and quarterback Brandon Weeden didn’t pan out that hurt more.
Griffin’s career obviously flamed out quickly. So, let’s wait and see how Coleman and next year’s picks play into this team. If Sunday’s play is any indication of Coleman’s potential, then there’s hope that he will contribute to this team for years.
Let us not jump ship yet, regardless of what happens with Kessler or Wentz. When Browns fans panic, it makes the front office panic, then the owner, and bad decisions turn into former quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Let the franchise rebuild the right way. The first two weeks were tough, but as they say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” We must root for Coleman and Pryor to catch more passes, Kessler to prove he belongs in the league, and not let the “could have been” cloud our judgement so soon.
Next: When Is The QB Carousel Going To Stop?
They deserve the time to do their due diligence to build the Browns the right way.. something no Browns regime has had the luxury of since re-entering the league.