Browns get their heads kicked in by the Patriots in this weeks 3 good and 3 bad
By Chad Porto
The Cleveland Browns did not have a good day against the New England Patriots.
The Cleveland Browns got their faces kicked in by the New England Patriots in a game that could easily be described as the worst effort put forward by the Cleveland Browns all season. The offense was inept, the defense was bad, and the cracks are starting to show.
The Browns’ offense, long been thought of as the best in the NFL by some in Cleveland, showed why that theory was a fallacy. The Browns have no offense when the Browns running game falls apart. If you can contain Nick Chubb, you will destroy the Browns’ offense. Kevin Stefanski proved he can’t win by running the ball, as he opted to pass 45 times with Jacoby Brissett.
Brissett played badly because, as I’ve said all season long, Brissett isn’t a starter. He’s a very average NFL backup. This was yet another example of that. This isn’t to dog on Brissett but to further emphasize that you need to temper your expectations with him.
The defense is a mess and it’s not on Joe Woods. Keep in mind Woods only runs the play-calling. Kevin Stefanski is the one that oversees everything on this team. If the defensive scheme doesn’t work, look at Stefanski. If you don’t like the defensive philosophies, look at Stefanski. It’s not Woods’ job to teach defensive tackles how to shed blockers, that’s the defensive line coach’s job. It’s not Woods’ job to teach defensive backs how to shift their weight into a sprint without falling down. That’s the defensive back coach’s job.
It’s also not Woods’ job to draft defensive players who can play, that’s Andrew Berry’s job. Woods will probably get fired, but that won’t change anything. The scheme is flawed and that takes a full offseason to fix. The players also aren’t very good and that’s all on Berry.
This team is a mess and a losing season is very likely unless the team makes dramatic improvements to the squad before and at the trade deadline. The franchise can’t afford to give up on any season with all the money they invested in current players.