The Cleveland Browns were never a super talented team, no matter what narratives were pushed

The Cleveland Browns faithful still seemingly believe that the team is filled with superior talent.

The Cleveland Browns are 3-7 and starring down the barrel of a 12 gauge shotgun known as Tom Brady. Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming to town on Sunday, and there are still some who believe the Browns can rally for a win. The Buccaneers and Browns are matching up pretty evenly, with ESPN’s matchup predictor separating them by just .2%.

Yet, this is a team that needs to play perfectly and be coached perfectly, just to win a game. The defense isn’t very good when healthy and they’re not currently healthy. Andrew Berry has not made any significant to the defense (or the offense for that matter) since arriving and has failed to improve this team either through free agency or the draft.

Look at this roster, all of the best players came here before Berry arrived. That inability to build a team, or add to it in Berry’s case, is exactly why this team is in the situation it’s in. Is Kevin Stefanski at fault as well? To a degree, but if his team was better built, he wouldn’t need to be nearly perfect with his play calling just to stay in a game.

The same goes for Joe Woods and Mike Priefer. They’re both coaches who can only succeed so much due to the talent Berry has brought in. Yet, despite the obviousness of what’s wrong wit the team, and the lack of talent, most people still blame the coaches.

The coaches can only make a player so good, its’ the GM’s job to bring in the talent needed. Berry has failed to do that and the team’s record is indicative of it. Yet, fans are still blaming the coaching.

The coaching hasn’t been perfect, but this was a playoff team in 2020 before Berry started shuffling huge chunks of the team around. Now they’re not and are saddled with one of the worst quarterback contracts in the league. And who knows what Deshaun Watson is going to look like? If we found out anything this year from the league, it’s that a quarterback expires very quickly these days.

This team is poorly built and that’s not going to change with Berry in charge.

The Cleveland Browns are not one quarterback away

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. I wrote a lot earlier this year about how the offense wasn’t going to be great due to the limitations that Jacoby Brissett brought to the table and the lack of receiving options. I also spoke in length about the issues the offensive line would have as it aged and the fact that Kareem Hunt wasn’t a top 20 running back in the league like many thought.

Sure, Brissett performed better than expected but his limitations are still a huge reason why the Browns are what they are offensive. The offensive line as a whole can’t pass block, and even though Ethan Pocic has been coached up well in the running game, he’s still a liability against the pass rush. Jedrick Wills has not developed, and Jack Conklin has smacked into the proverbial wall due to injuries.

That doesn’t even factor in the defense.

The safeties have long been an issue dating back to 2020. Andrew Sendejo was scapegoated but then went on to have a good year in Indianapolis in 2021. All the while, John Johnson III hasn’t been anyone worth talking about and the oodles of safeties that were drafted in the last few years have all busted out.

The linebackers have some nice pieces, Sione Takitaki and Jeremiah Owusu-Kormaoah are good pieces, but neither is a Pro Bowler. The defensive line is a mess at every position except for Myles Garrett and even Garrett has proven, yet again, that he’s got more excuses why he goes cold for long stretches than he does plays made.

None of this is new. I’ve been talking about these same issues since 2020. The team is not in good hands, and it’s clear that the people running this team are clueless about how to fix the bigger issues. The issue is talent scouting and recruiting.

That’s something Berry has proven he can’t do. Until fans realize this is a mediocre roster with a few studs, then nothing is going to change.