3 things the Cleveland Browns need to work on for Week 2

The Cleveland Browns got by a scrappy Carolina Panthers team but that doesn’t mean they played flawlessly.

The Cleveland Browns are a very flawed football team, dare I say that they are incomplete. Had the Panthers’ defense not had the discipline of a toddler near a pack of cookies, the Browns very likely would have lost that game. The offense was carried by a kicker, and one of the team’s two touchdowns only happened because a Panthers player decided to practice his Cobra Clutch on a Browns player in the endzone.

It didn’t work for Sgt. Slaughter, it won’t work for you, just saying.

That pass interference call gave the Browns the ability to score the first touchdown of the game. Had C.J. Henderson not felt the need to get a hug from Amari Cooper at that exact moment, that interception changes the course of the game. How Henderson didn’t get cut at that exact moment is a miracle. Which is another word to describe these Browns’ win. A miracle.

The Panthers gave them the game on a silver platter until they didn’t and it showed. The team has so many holes and if a mediocre offense and solid defense can do this to the Browns, then anyone can.

Just not the Jets, which is why this is a good week to get the kinks out.

Three things the Cleveland Browns need to do better against the New York Jets

Stop calling up first-down passes

Jacoby Brissett was bad, not mediocre. Not below average, not decent. Just bad. He completed just 53% of his passes, threw two passes that either were or should’ve been interceptions, and only led the team to take the lead due to an unnecessary roughness call against his own linemen. Did I mention he was the worst-rated player from the Browns’ offense according to PFF? Even worse than Ethan Pocic.

The Browns are not going to win with him at quarterback and sadly there is no one coming to save the day. He is the best option and that should terrify you. Even more terrifying is the fact we all saw him play like garbage, and Stefanski, this genius of a coach, called 34 pass plays.

All but maybe four or five with the lead, mind you. The Browns averaged six yards per carry when you remove Brissett from the equation, and couldn’t be stopped until the fourth quarter when fatigue took over. The Browns are carrying more running backs than the Guardians carry relievers (joking) and yet, Stefanski still thought it was a good idea to call pass plays for Anthony Schwartz. Stefanski is not a good play caller and better coaches will beat him. So how about we stop overrelying on a bad quarterback?

Demetric Felton’s return skills

I’d say Demetric Felton had one very good return, three “we’ll take its” and one “oh my god, oh my god, what are you doings”.  Felton isn’t much of an asset on the offense and if he can’t catch punts, what is he doing here? Felton can’t muff punts, and when you’re on special teams, you don’t get multiple mistakes to fix it. If Felton keeps muffing punts, he’ll be removed from this spot, and then he’ll just be deadweight. He can’t afford even one mistake as a punt returner. You have to be perfect, as unfair as that is.

Teaching Anthony Schwartz to catch

If your defense of Anthony Schwartz is “he only dropped *ONE* pass yesterday”, then that’s not a defense, it’s an indictment. The kid is so afraid to catch the ball that they had to game plan for him to get the ball on handoffs. Don’t we already have 482 different running backs? If Schwartz can’t do the job of catching the ball, why is he here? Yes, he had one catch against the Panthers. One. That’s not the performance we expect from third-rounders.