Cleveland Browns with rising and falling stock after the New Orleans Saints game
By Chad Porto
The Cleveland Browns fell to the New Orleans Saints but that wasn’t all that fell this weekend.
The Cleveland Browns gave the New Orleans a fight on Sunday but it wasn’t enough as the Saints defeated the Browns 17-10 in one of the ugliest games of the season. Why the NFL didn’t move the game with the temperature being as low as it was will baffle me for years to come. The weather was a reason the team struggled, but not the only reason.
The Browns’ usual cast of suspects struggled in the bad weather, just as they did in the warmer weather, so I’m not going to accept that as an excuse, nor should anyone else. Now, before we get to the list, let’s do the preamble. I don’t think the offense played well.
At all. So the names with the rising stocks on offense are there merely because I need someone, anyone, to fill out that portion of the list. So these players played marginally better than they usually do or didn’t play as badly as others.
Now, because I get this every week, not every player is eligible for this list. Some players are who we judge everyone by. Those names usually include Joel Bitonio, Nick Chubb, and Myles Garrett. This week, I’m adding Amari Cooper to that list. Cooper isn’t worth his $20 million per year contract, and I’ve been saying that since he got here.
Do you know what else I’ve been saying? He’s the best receiver the Browns have had in years. Cooper isn’t an elite playmaker anymore, but he’s still a very good, and reliable target. He’s a faster Jarvis Landry.
So those are your top-tier guys. One name also not on the list yet, is the embattled and disgraced Deshaun Watson. He’s been bad. He’s been horrid. We’re out of excuses, folks. He’s been practicing with this team since March, he’s been studying the playbook for just as long, and he’s had all the time in the world to prepare for his debut. He was out of the building for a total of six weeks. That’s it. He stopped practicing with the team end of August and was allowed back on Oct. 10.
Look what Baker Mayfield has done in three weeks in Los Angeles, Watson has no excuses. He’s been bad. But, I’m also giving him a break as I want to see what he looks like in decent weather, with weeks of work, just so there’s no debate on who he is as a player. At least for the rest of this season.