My 2009 Cleveland Browns Mid-Season Report Card...F- Overview

Overall: F- Very little has gone right for the Cleveland Browns, now half way through the regular season. Mistakes, missed opportunities and overall, some of the worst coaching I have yet to see, has lead this time to being one of, if not, the worst football franchise in the NFL. Unfortunately for Browns fans, we have the opportunity to find out if Cleveland is the worst team in the NFL as our second half brings us up against three teams that are also pitted at the bottom of the NFL: @Detroit, @ Kansas City and home against the lowly Raiders. So with that being said, I am going to break down my opinion and grades of each facet of the 2009 Cleveland Browns first half season.

COACHING STAFF:

D+ Head Coach Eric Mangini: D With very little talent in-place on this team, it is easy to want to push a lot of blame on Eric Mangini. He does deserve a lot, especially with the QB issue; but what I do like is how he has handled off field issues and some of the basic fundamentals that Cleveland has lacked. The biggest positive I have seen, is the limited number of false starts, holding and just general penalties that kill a team. They are not playing smart football, but they are not committing those mental mistake penalties. On the down side, this team has not gelled or pulled together as a team. In-spite of getting rid of the “locker room” distraction players, this team has not yet come together under and identified leader of this team. The handling of the QBs has been atrocious. The handling of the media and the voice of the fans, which pay his salary, has been equally as bad.

Offensive Coordinator: F Offensive is the first word here and it explains so much. Brian Daboll is a rookie coordinator. I will give him that leeway. But his playing calling on the offensive side contributes just as much to the failure of this football team as the execution failure of those playing. Red Zone Touchdowns (or lack thereof) and overall time of possession are the key stats that show the failure of this football team. Add in there, several cases of blatant clock mismanagement and dropped passes, and you can see how poor Daboll has really been. He has not been consistent with his playing calling what so ever. By that, I mean, this team has yet to find an identity on offense that they can build a game plan around. Every week, it seems this football team tries something new on offense. Sometimes it works, but then they stop using it. It is hard to build a consistent football team when the game plan rotates from week to week. Changing players up after they have proved to move the ball well, or not letting them in as much from week to week, really destroys the continuity of trying to improve from week to week. I understand trying to change things a little bit based on your opponents defensive strengths, but Daboll completely changes packages and play from week to week. He is ultra-conservative and does not play to the abilities of the Browns’ Offense. The Browns avg T.O.P 28 minute’s p/g compared to almost 34 minutes for their opponent. Let’s not even mention Cleveland’s lowest rated red zone scoring, a measly 5 of 16 on the season.

Defensive Coordinator: C Ok, this is probably where is have to disagree with the stats and say that I believe this Defense is playing better then what the stats show. The Browns’ defense has kept Cleveland in games several times this season until the offense failed to generate anything and they just flat wore down. Now gather, against Pittsburgh and Green Bay, Cleveland was completely dominated by the opposing team’s offense. Rex Ryan has shown that he likes to blitz and he comes up with very solid packages that can pressure the QB and confuse opposing offensive lines. Cleveland is in dire need of a secondary play maker. McDonald, Wright, Elam and Pool are all ok, but Cleveland has no one who is really apt to making the big play when they need it. I think that has really hurt Cleveland’s packages over the past couple of week, because you cannot leave any of these guys by themselves.

Special Teams: B The Browns special teams have exactly ½ of the Browns touchdowns and ¾ of the Browns’ total points this year. Josh Cribbs has done everything well on special teams, giving Cleveland’s offense plenty of good field position to squander away. Billy Cundiff has done an exceptional job in replacement for Mr. MVP for the Browns since 1999, Phil Dawson. The kickoff coverage and punt coverage teams have performed really well other than a few occasions. But they have yet to give up a TD on a return. Dave Zastudil might actually be Cleveland’s only Pro-bowler this year. He has knocked 25 of his 43 punts inside the 20 including 7 inside the 10 and 3 inside the 5. O

FFENSE: Yeah right, F- overall – 31st in total Offense, 30th in points scored - 3.8 yards per play
Big Stat of the O: Turn-Over’s. The Browns have turned the ball over an amazing 24 times this year

Offensive Line: D- The offensive line is where everything starts and ends as far as if an offense is going to be successful. Eric Steinbach and Joe Thomas have done a steady job. Not great, not horrible and I think it is because they have to pick up the right side so much. And why Cleveland doesn’t run to the left more is beyond me. But, the pass protection has broken down so much and so quickly that it is amazing D.A hasn’t been sacked 20 times this year. They fail to open up any holes in the running game and forget trying to pick up the blitzes. Against the base 3 or 4, the line does a solid job, but so many defenses are seeing how weak Cleveland is at picking up blitzes and bringing packages that give our QB maybe 1-2 seconds to throw. They have also been very horrible getting any kind of push in the red zone. I think it is one of the main contributors to the lack of red zone TDs. Just 3 TDs in 15 Red Zone trips.

Wide Receivers: F the routes are poor, they don’t get off the press coverage well and oh yeah, and they cannot catch. Though dropped passes are not an “official NFL” stat, most reports have Cleveland around 22 “catchable” drops since the trade of Braylon Edwards. Both Robiskie and Massaquoi are rookies and have the possibilities of becoming good wide outs, but without a big play maker, these two are going to have their fair share of growing pains. Without a solid TE taking a lot of the pressure off the WR, it is going to make it even more difficult for our young rookies to develop.

Running Backs: C- There is a very valid argument that this could be graded a lot worse. But the Browns have shown the ability to run the ball with some success. Overall, the Brown are averaging a paltry 3.7 ypc. Jamal Lewis does have the majority of the carrier and is averaging 3.4 while Jerome Harrison is 3.7. I think as this season progresses, we are going to see a lot more rushing than passing. The Browns only have 2 rushing touchdowns this season, courtesy of a D.A QB sneaks from a yard out. Jamal Lewis doesn’t have the step he once did, but he fights for every yard and still proves that he can break out from time to time. The offensive line really contributes to the Browns in ability to run the ball. Jerome Harrison has shown that he can run and carry the ball as the premier back. Why he doesn’t get utilized more really falls on the fact that Cleveland has been out of so many games this year, is that it really just doesn’t matter.

Quarterback: F (Derek Anderson) F (Brady Quinn) Ok, I saved this one for last on the offensive side because of the turmoil it breeds among Browns fans. Neither QB has proved any reason to be starting in the NFL. Dink and Dunk vs. Big Arm INT prone. Derek is completing a whopping 42.9% of his passes, while Brady is a respectable 59.7%, but I think the stats that really need to be emphasized between both are Yards per completion and INT %. Derek has an ypc (completions, not attempts) of 10 yards per completion, Brady 8.8 ypc. Both are very similar. Also similar is INT%. Derek 5.8, Brady 4.1. People can argue what they want, but both QBs are actually performing at about the same level. There is very little difference in the offensive output of either QB.
There are 2 main differences in throwing of these 2 QBs. One is the completion %, the other is sacks. In 2.5 games, Brady was sacked 10 times. In 5.5 games, Derek has been sacked 9 times. And I already discussed the completion %. This argument between D.A and Brady Quinn is really a silly one. It’s like arguing over the location that a 6’6” 280 lb mixed martial artist is going to punch you, in the stomach or face. Either way, it’s going to suck, badly!
Both QBs have performed at such a garbage level with this team, that it is just a useless argument. Coming off the bye week, you really have to wonder who is going to be taking the snaps for Cleveland, and will it really make a difference at this point of the season.

Defense: Overall C-/D+ - 32nd in total YPG, 6.0 YPP, 26.1 Points per game Again, I am going to argue the fact that Cleveland’s defense is somewhat better than their stats show. I am not, by any means, saying they are good, I just don’t think they are as terrible as their stats.

Defensive Line: C+ Shaun Rogers is proving his worth week in and week out. But this front 3 is not built to play 3 man rushes with 8 in coverage. And that is a lot of what Cleveland has been doing as these weeks progress. Cleveland has been forced to leave more players in the secondary to protect against the pass, that it is hurting the front 3. And now that the Browns are without a solid LB for the rest of the season, it is going to hurt the front 3 even more. Shaun Rogers, Robaire Smith/Kenyon Coleman, Corey Williams have all been decent. Obviously, I think Corey Williams being the least productive. He is definitely a 4-3 DE. But they hold their gaps well and allow the LBs to be in spots to make plays. People complain about a lack of a pass rush, again, I am going to refer back to dropping 8 in to coverage. Not many 3 man fronts can beat a 5 man offensive line.

Linebackers: D- Kamerion Wimbley, Eric Barton both have played decently. Neither has been exceptional. The only real threat on the LB is D’Qwell Jackson and unfortunately he is done for the season. With teams averaging 4.9 yards per carry against the Browns LB core just shows their inabilities to make the big plays. The Browns do have 12 sacks on the year, but only 6 of them have come from the LB group. Cleveland really needs LB Maiava to get spun up quickly and hope they made the right draft pick. He has shown a bit of natural talent, but it is raw and he has not always been in the right places to make the plays. But I really believe the biggest area of concern is the secondary of Cleveland which has made the rest of the defense look bad.

Secondary: F This group is the true weakness of the Cleveland defense. Missed tackles, needless penalties and very soft coverage, has been exploited over the past 5 weeks of football. A lot of teams are throwing often and early to set up the running game against Cleveland. This forces the LBs back more which open up the running game a lot more. Look at the Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Denver, even Buffalo really showcases how much trouble the secondary is in. Brandon McDonald makes some good plays, unfortunately, they are far and too few in between to make up for his poor play. Removing Hank Poteat out of the nickel slot has helped a lot and Mike Adams provides a little more upgrade. Cleveland is in kind of a “catch 22” with their secondary. If they blitz, most QBs have neutralized it by moving to the no-huddle (Buffalo, Pittsburgh) which forced Cleveland to play back. That causes Cleveland to rush only 3, and that gives teams all day to throw. This also allows teams to open up the running game. Our secondary just does not have the talent to play man coverage against anyone. Over the past 6 weeks of football, teams are averaging throwing the ball 31 times, most of it in the first ½ of the games.

Anyways, this is my opinion of course, and I am sure many of you will disagree. Please, feel free to comment away.

~Christian aka Thefknpowerguy~ “Supporting the Cleveland Indians, the Cleveland Browns and the people of the United States. US Air Force, currently serving in Iraq”