Cleveland Browns Need Improvement from Wide Receivers

Make no mistake about it, the key to build a winning team in Cleveland is by building a strong running attack. Having said that, the Browns still need to have enough of a passing attack to keep the defense honest.

There is no doubt that the Browns passing attack needs serious work. That is an indisputable fact. However, fans sometimes forget that there are two parts of the passing game. There are the guys throwing the ball and the guys catching the ball.

This season, most of the fingers have been pointed at the guys throwing the ball. Calling this objectively, we really can't say that either Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson did a good job. However, we can argue that both did the best they could with what they had to work with.

The receivers have had a problem all year with dropping passes and not helping their quarterbacks out. In one game Anderson was just 2-for-17. When you first look at that, you think what a horrible job by the quarterback. Then when you actually watch the film of that game, you see that the receivers were just as much to blame, if not more so.

There were more dropped passes in that game than we can count and that is no way to help your quarterback and to build his confidence that he can lead the offense.

Coming into the season, there was a lot of concern over the lack of playmakers at receiver. It all began with the trading of Kellen Winslow, who was replaced shortly after with Robert Royal, a move which ended up being a major bust.

Then came the incident with Donte Stallworth and the release of Joe Jurevicous, leaving the Browns with two fewer receivers. Meanwhile, Braylon Edwards was on the trading block for most of the offseason and was finally traded several weeks into the regular season.

When it was all said and done, the Browns were left with a young and inexperienced group of receivers. Joshua Cribbs has helped out, but most will agree that he is not at his best at wide receiver. He is better suited as an all purpose guy.

Mike Furrey was brought in as a veteran wideout. However, he has been an average receiver his whole career and he gave the Browns more of the same.

The Browns tried to upgrade the position through the draft, selecting Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi. After having a great career at nearby Ohio State, Browns fans were excited to have the former Buckeye playing for their squad. But other than the San Diego game, he hasn't really made an impact.

Massaquoi has had a decent rookie season, but it will never be mentioned in the same sentence as Randy Moss' rookie season. Few players will ever have rookie campaign's like the one Moss put together, but Massaquoi has shown the ability to get open down the field and make the big play.

There is one thing that bothers me a little about Massaquoi though, which is is that I haven't really seen him make an unbelievable catch in traffic.

One play that stands out came against Kansas City.  Massaquoi was double covered and Quinn under-threw him and the ball was picked off. While it was a horrible throw by Quinn, Massaquoi did fall down on the play.

And while the interception was Quinn's fault, I have seen Tom Brady make that same horrible pass into coverage, But I have also seen Randy Moss reach over top of the defender and take the under-thrown pass from him or at the very least break up the interception.

Chansi Stuckey, who came over in the Edwards trade, has really done well as of late. The highlight of his season came on a 40-yard touchdown against Detroit. Although Stuckey has been a positive for this unit, I don't see any defensive coordinator losing sleep over preparing for him.

Evan Moore was a late addition to the team. Playing against San Diego, he showed that he can be the pass catching tight end that the Browns were missing when Winslow left. And while Moore has been a pleasant surprise, there was one play in the second half against Pittsburgh that bothered me.

It was a third and long and the ball was slightly overthrown, but it hit his hand before it landed incomplete. I was at the bar for this game and I heard somebody say, "that is a tough catch, but an NFL tight end has to bring that one in." What a true statement that was. A tight end in the NFL has to be able to go through the middle and catch those one-handers.

Adding to the Browns problems is that they don't really have a good pass catching back. They need a guy who can take a screen and turn it into a huge gain. Cribbs is the closest they have to that, but he will never be confused with Kevin Faulk.

The Browns could also use a guy like Wes Welker, who can take a quick slant and turn it into a huge gain.

And let me reiterate again, they need a guy who can take a ball in traffic away from the defenders, something I haven't seen much of, it at all, this year. The best catch in traffic was made by Quinn, and that is just not good enough.

The thing to remember though is that this unit is still very young and needs more time to gel. One thing Mike Holmgren will have to consider is whether he want to reactivate Donte Stallworth. That is a dangerous road but it may be worth the risk.

Looking ahead into the draft, Golden Tate or Jordan Shipley would be good choices for Cleveland to consider.

Like I mentioned in the beginning of this article, it is important to remember that there are two parts of the passing game. If you want to critique the guys throwing the ball, that is fine. However, just be fair and look at the whole picture, including who is on the receiving end.