3 Cleveland Browns who saw their stock fall vs. the Atlanta Falcons

The Cleveland Browns as a whole looked bad in the loss to the Atlanta Falcons

Ho boy, where do we begin? So much of this game exposed the longstanding issues this Cleveland Browns team was going to have. They have no returner worth their salt, the Andrew Berry Boys are not trusted by the coaching staff, the offense has no playmaker they can rely on consistently other than Nick Chubb, and defensively, without Myles Garrett, they’re utterly useless.

And Garrett only really plays against passing downs. So that should tell you just how awful this defense actually is. As a whole, they’re undisciplined. This is a 1-3 team that got a break when referees didn’t understand the term “intentional grounding”. This defense is the crux of the issue. We all knew the offense would be bland with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.

There’s no outrage there, as they’ve exceeded expectations. I am utterly shocked this team can muster 20 points a game. So I’ll take it. Defensively, even though I knew it was all smoke, the talks of the defense being “great” were blown out of the water. The defense got carved up like a morally loose person in a 1980s slasher flick. They couldn’t stop a snowball from rolling down a very tiny hill, let alone the Atlanta Falcons running game.

Had the Falcons been coached by a smarter person, this would never have been a game, but they kept trying to throw. Yet, when they pulled their heads out of their butts, they did what they should have been doing all game and run the ball until the Browns stopped them.

The final was 23-20. The Browns didn’t stop them. There are far more than just three players who need to get dunked on but I believe in symmetry. There were three players with raised stocks, so there will only be three with falling.

But I’m permitting a few honorable mentions; Tommy Togiai (got reps and had the worst defensive outing of his career), Denzel Ward (A blossoming dirty player who committed what should’ve been three personal fouls on the day), Wyatt Teller (stop committing penalties for dog’s sake), and the linebacking corp not named Jacob Phillips.

We’ll get to you.

Three Cleveland Browns with falling stocks after the loss to the Atlanta Falcons

Jacoby Brissett

That quarterback debate lasted two full weeks. I’m impressed, Cleveland. You actually got worked into a shoot with Brissett. Brissett’s a subpar quarterback who, unless is throwing mostly underneath, can’t complete a deep pass all that often. He had one to Donovan Peoples-Jones, but he had a lot of bad passes this week. Most of them are to receivers and over 10 yards. In fact, when needed to step up and make a play, he threw a pick to end the game. The book on beating the Browns is out, take out Amari Cooper and the game is over for the Browns’ passing offense.

Amari Cooper

I said it before and I’ll say it again, Amari Cooper is an upgrade over Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. Cooper is also not a No. 1 receiver. Cooper was covered by the Falcons’ best corner. Do you know who else was? Cooper Kupp. Kupp is the best receiver in the NFL. He got 11 passes, for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper? One reception for nine yards. The Saints saw Jarvis Landry go for 100+ yards, along with Michael Thomas scoring twice through the air. The Falcons’ defense isn’t world beaters, Cooper just isn’t the guy everyone thinks he is. The Cowboys got rid of him for a reason. You don’t get rid of game-changers, you find a way to keep them. Cooper will have a good year, but don’t expect him to be the Browns version of Stefon Diggs.

Jacob Phillips

The XFL is looking for talent. So he’s probably going to have to look elsewhere for gainful employment. He’s awful, call Joe Schobert and end this charade. Andrew Berry missed on so many of these draft picks, first and foremost with Phillips. Before anyone calls for Joe Woods to be fired, Phillips has better be on the chopping block first. Three years in, and he’s shown no improvement. See ya.