Factory Of Sadness
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Browns: 5 players the team never should have let go of

By Chad Porto

CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 01: Taylor Gabriel #18 of the Cleveland Browns makes a second quarter catch next to Patrick Peterson #21 of the Arizona Cardinals at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 1, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 01: Taylor Gabriel #18 of the Cleveland Browns makes a second quarter catch next to Patrick Peterson #21 of the Arizona Cardinals at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 1, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 09: Joe Schobert #53 of the Cleveland Browns returns an interception during overtime against the Pittsburgh Steelers the at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The game ended in a 21-21 tie. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 09: Joe Schobert #53 of the Cleveland Browns returns an interception during overtime against the Pittsburgh Steelers the at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The game ended in a 21-21 tie. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Joe Schobert

It’s been made painfully obvious how this writer feels about Joe Schobert’s departure from the Browns. It was a mistake, plain and simple. Schobert has proven time and time again that he can play at a high-level and the Cleveland Browns reaped the benefits that came with him. Think about this, the only two major changes on defense from the 2019 Browns to the 2020 Browns were Schobert and Damarious Randall’s departures. The Browns were 7th against the pass last year. This year they’re 23rd.

Don’t think Schobert made a difference? He did. Sure you’ll claim the Browns have been better against the rush this year, but the simple fact is that teams aren’t running the ball against the Browns at the same rate this year.

How many of the top rushing teams did the Browns have to face in 2019? Well, there were the Ravens (1st), Titans (2nd), 49ers (3rd),  Seahawks (4th), Bills (8th), and Cardinals (10th). Of those six teams, four of them posted over 170 yards rushing or more. Four of the top five rushing games posted against the Browns came after Garrett’s suspension, including both Bengals games, who was the only team not in the top 10 in rushing yards to rip apart the Browns.

The Browns did great against everyone else, having six games of under 100 yards given up. Only one of those games after Garrett’s suspension, which was against the Dolphins; who ranked 32nd in rushing for 2019.

This year the Browns have only faced two teams in the top 17 in rushing so far. Anyone wanna take a guess who those were?  The Raiders (9th) and the Ravens (1st). The Steelers (19th), Cowboys (17th), Colts (22nd), Bengals (23rd), and Washington (29th) don’t measure up.

So of course the stats are better this year, they’re facing horrible rushing teams and despite that, are still getting gashed.

So yes, Schobert would’ve been a big help to have back.

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