Is It Time for the Cleveland Browns to Put Mike Pettine on the Hot Seat?

Sunday's 24-6 loss to the St. Louis Rams dropped the Cleveland Browns to 2-5 on the season and essentially out of an AFC North race currently commanded by the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals. 

The loss marked only the second time the Browns haven't trailed by one score or less at some point in the fourth quarter. Two of Cleveland's games have gone into overtime (one win, one loss), and against St. Louis, the Browns were down just four points shortly after halftime. 

One loss came on a last-second field goal that was only achieved after cornerback Tramon Williams was called offsides on an earlier miss (and let's be honest, it certainly didn't appear he was offsides). 

This is a pattern of play that seems indicative of a team that is close to contention but is not quite there. In other words, the Browns resemble a talented team that just cannot seem to do the little things right.

When the little things are killing your team, you're often looking at a coaching issue.

At the beginning of the 2015 season, it seemed laughable that the Browns would have an issue with head coach Mike Pettine and his staff. They helped deliver a Cleveland-good 7-9 record a year ago, and they helped build a defense that finished the season ranked ninth in points allowed (21.1 per game).

This is likely why owner Jimmy Haslam had no trouble throwing his support behind Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer.

"We're not going to blow things up. OK?" Haslam said back in August, per Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com. "I think we're on the right track, so we're not going to blow things up. I understand why people might ask that after a couple of bumps in the road the first couple of years, but we're not going to do that. I think we're putting in place a good foundation." 

The reality, though, is that the Browns have been an utter mess under the current regime since late last season. Cleveland lost five consecutive games to finish 2014, and Pettine's record over his last 16 games now sits at 5-11. Of course, 5-11 sounds about right because that's a typical year in Cleveland.

You can make excuses, sure; any team can. Pro Bowl center Alex Mack missed most of last season with a broken leg, and Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden has missed two games so far this year with a concussion. 

You can also place a lot of the blame on Farmer, and he deserves it. He's had four first-round picks over the past two years and none of the four players he has selected have made a tangible impact.

Defensive tackle Danny Shelton finally gives the Browns a true nose tackle for their 3-4 scheme, but he has rarely looked like a difference-maker, and Cleveland's defense as a whole still looks like it couldn't stop a refrigerator from running with a circuit breaker.

Farmer is also the guy who gave receiver Dwayne Bowe $9 million guaranteed for his 12 offensive snaps this season. 

Ron Schwane/Associated Press/Associated Press

Don't get me wrong; Farmer deserves to be on the hot seat after numerous questionable personnel decisions. But it's time to admit that Pettine does also—and it's because of the little things. 

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I like Pettine's coaching style and I initially thought he was a perfect fit for the blue-collar Browns. He doesn't mince words, he doesn't make excuses and he generally comes across as an old-school, no-nonsense football coach. 

"This is a pass-fail league," Pettine said after losing on a last-second field goal in last year's season opener, per Bud Shaw of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. "We failed."

The odd thing is that when you look at old-school, no-nonsense coaches, you expect their no-nonsense attitude to rub off on the players they are coaching.

With Pettine, that hasn't happened. 

There's really no other way to explain Cleveland's inability to execute on a fundamental level. We're talking about the little things—things like ball security, penalties and stupid mistakes. 

Against the Rams on Sunday, the Browns fumbled the football away four times and committed 11 penalties. If you think these mistakes didn't directly lead to the Browns' loss, consider the following:

-Two first-quarter fumbles led to 10 St. Louis points. A fumble by receiver Taylor Gabriel was returned for a touchdown and another by quarterback Josh McCown put the Rams in field-goal range.

-In the third quarter, with the Browns down just four points, McCown hit tight end Gary Barnidge for a long gain up to the Cleveland 42-yard line. The Browns were called for holding on the very next play and again three plays after that. Cleveland punted and the Rams scored a touchdown on their next possession.

-The second of those two holding calls wiped out a 36-yard pass play to wideout Travis Benjamin that would have put the Browns at the St. Louis 21-yard line. Had the play stood, Cleveland would have been in position to cut the deficit to one or even take a three-point lead. 

-In the fourth quarter, with the Browns down 11, McCown again hit Benjamin on a long-gainer, but Benjamin was hit and fumbled on the Rams 42-yard line. 

Before the Rams scored their first offensive touchdown after the two-holding-call sequence in the third quarter, the Browns defense had done a nice job of shutting the Rams down. With fewer mistakes, the entire complexion of the game could have changed—and this isn't a fresh trend for the 2015 Browns.

The Browns have fumbled the ball 13 times in seven games this season. That's nearly twice a game. Even more alarming is the fact that the Browns have committed 60 penalties for 492 yards. 

That equates to an average of more than 70 penalty yards per game. The Browns can't eliminate all penalties, of course. However, the San Francisco 49ers (37.7 penalty yards per game) are barely averaging half of what Cleveland is, and the Minnesota Vikings (43.5 per game) are averaging nearly 30 yards less per game in penalties. 

Could the Browns use an extra 30 yards a game? Yes. Could they use fewer penalties coming at the most inopportune times? Absolutely.

We won't get too far into Cleveland's issues with tackling and containment on defense (that's another long and disappointing story). However, these issues are a big part of the reason why the Browns are rated just 28th in overall defense by Pro Football Focus. 

Skeptical? Just take a look at how some fans view the team. 

For a defensive coach like Pettine, this shouldn't be acceptable—and again, it comes down, in large part, to a lack of fundamentals. 

Now let's be perfectly honest here. A lack of fundamentals hasn't cost the Browns every game they've lost since Pettine and his staff took over. However, it's hard to imagine it hasn't cost Cleveland a few of the close ones. 

The revolving door in Cleveland's front office is partially to blame for the continuous mediocrity the Browns have experienced. However, the Browns can't afford to hang on to the current regime strictly for continuity's sake. 

If Pettine and Co. are failing to relay the importance of basics like ball security, penalties, gap integrity and form tackling, where else is the staff failing?

No matter how well Pettine may seem to fit in Cleveland, it's time for him to start coaching like his job depends on it. If he turns it around and the Browns snag a couple of tough wins before the bye week, then that's great. If the Browns can go on a run and match last year's record with this schedule, it's even better.

If the issues continue and this becomes another three- or four-win season, however, then maybe it'll be time to start over. 

Pettine should have nine games to prove that he can get this team under control. If he doesn't, it will be time to admit that Pettine's fit isn't a good one.