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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Lessons from six disappointing NFL teams: Barnwell on what went wrong and what's next
Cleveland Browns (6-9)
The team lacked discipline. The Browns have committed 148 penalties this season, the second most of any team in football behind the Jaguars. That included a 20-penalty opener in the 43-13 loss to the Titans, the first time a team has hit the 20-penalty mark in a game since the Dolphins did it in 2017. The Myles Garrett incident cost the Browns their top defensive player for the second half. I'm not sure how much this really matters, but when compared to the Patriots, the Browns' sideline looked a little like 2 p.m. at the main stage of a summer music festival.
On a less tangible level, the Browns don't look like they're well-drilled. Baker Mayfield spent most of the first half playing hero ball, repeatedly drifting to the right to try to make a frantic throw under any pretense of pressure without correcting the problem until late in the season. Mayfield, who was ninth in passer rating under pressure a year ago, was 28th in the same category through the first half of 2019 before improving in recent weeks. Good offensive coaches nip that in the bud in days, not weeks.
Mayfield also picked unnecessary battles in the media with everyone from Duke Johnson to Daniel Jones. I'll give the Browns the benefit of the doubt and assume that star wideouts Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry haven't asked other teams to "come get them," but this was supposed to be the season in which the Browns shined in the spotlight. Instead, it felt like the same old Browns.
Should the Browns have seen this coming? Nobody could have anticipated Garrett smacking Mason Rudolph in the head with a helmet, but otherwise, there were reasons to be concerned. Freddie Kitchens hadn't ever been a coordinator at any level before the second half of 2018, let alone a head coach. Asking a first-time coach to manage a room full of egos when the minimum expectation is a playoff berth is a lot. Kitchens also refused to lighten his load by giving up playcalling duties to former Bucs offensive coordinator Todd Monken. You can understand why they wanted to keep coaching continuity for Mayfield after his excellent second half as a rookie, but that argument doesn't seem quite as pressing in 2019.
The Browns committed only 43 penalties over the second half of the season in 2018, but they were willing to entertain players who had a penalty history. One obvious candidate was left tackle Greg Robinson, who was brought back on a one-year deal after going 463 offensive snaps without allowing a sack last season. That's an impressive feat, but he racked up nine holding penalties over the second half of 2018 and drew 31 holding calls from 2014-17, 10 more than any other lineman. Robinson, who was ejected from the opener and benched briefly during the season, has 11 penalties in 14 games this season, including five holding calls.
David Njoku missed three months with a wrist injury and has been a healthy scratch in each of the past two weeks.
Olivier Vernon suffered a knee injury in Week 9 and has played just 10 snaps since.
Garrett racked up 10 sacks in his first seven games, but he was suspended for the final six games of the year and indefinitely thereafter for the incident with Rudolph.
Damarious Randall missed five games and Denzel Ward missed four as part of an early-season stretch in which the Browns were occasionally down all four of their starting defensive backs.
Christian Kirksey missed the final 14 games of the year with a torn pectoral muscle.
There were exceptions -- Landry, Nick Chubb, Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson have generally been healthy and effective -- but many of the players who were supposed to be difference-makers for this team haven't been this season.
Should the Browns have seen this coming? In some cases. There's no way the Browns could have passed up trading for Beckham, but the mercurial wideout has played all 16 games only once as a pro. Vernon, his former teammate in New York, hasn't played a full 16 since 2016. Randall has yet to complete a 16-game season in five years as a pro. The other cases seem like they would have been difficult to predict or project.
How to avoid making the same mistake: I'm not sure they can. The Browns are locked in to most of the players I mentioned in this core. They could trade Beckham or cut Vernon or Kirksey, but those moves would just create holes on the roster, especially with Garrett's status uncertain and Joe Schobert's pending free agency.
The Browns will have to hope better coaching gets Mayfield back on track. Njoku's future with the team is interesting, given that he was drafted before general manager John Dorsey arrived and really hasn't done much yet as a pro. Njoku obviously has considerable upside, but with the Browns leaving him inactive for the past two weeks, would Dorsey consider trading the starting tight end he inherited from Sashi Brown?
Entire article: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id...appointing-nfl-teams-barnwell-went-wrong-next
Re: How to avoid making the same mistake: I'm not sure they can.
Just the Browns being the Browns....
Cleveland Browns (6-9)
The team lacked discipline. The Browns have committed 148 penalties this season, the second most of any team in football behind the Jaguars. That included a 20-penalty opener in the 43-13 loss to the Titans, the first time a team has hit the 20-penalty mark in a game since the Dolphins did it in 2017. The Myles Garrett incident cost the Browns their top defensive player for the second half. I'm not sure how much this really matters, but when compared to the Patriots, the Browns' sideline looked a little like 2 p.m. at the main stage of a summer music festival.
On a less tangible level, the Browns don't look like they're well-drilled. Baker Mayfield spent most of the first half playing hero ball, repeatedly drifting to the right to try to make a frantic throw under any pretense of pressure without correcting the problem until late in the season. Mayfield, who was ninth in passer rating under pressure a year ago, was 28th in the same category through the first half of 2019 before improving in recent weeks. Good offensive coaches nip that in the bud in days, not weeks.
Mayfield also picked unnecessary battles in the media with everyone from Duke Johnson to Daniel Jones. I'll give the Browns the benefit of the doubt and assume that star wideouts Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry haven't asked other teams to "come get them," but this was supposed to be the season in which the Browns shined in the spotlight. Instead, it felt like the same old Browns.
Should the Browns have seen this coming? Nobody could have anticipated Garrett smacking Mason Rudolph in the head with a helmet, but otherwise, there were reasons to be concerned. Freddie Kitchens hadn't ever been a coordinator at any level before the second half of 2018, let alone a head coach. Asking a first-time coach to manage a room full of egos when the minimum expectation is a playoff berth is a lot. Kitchens also refused to lighten his load by giving up playcalling duties to former Bucs offensive coordinator Todd Monken. You can understand why they wanted to keep coaching continuity for Mayfield after his excellent second half as a rookie, but that argument doesn't seem quite as pressing in 2019.
The Browns committed only 43 penalties over the second half of the season in 2018, but they were willing to entertain players who had a penalty history. One obvious candidate was left tackle Greg Robinson, who was brought back on a one-year deal after going 463 offensive snaps without allowing a sack last season. That's an impressive feat, but he racked up nine holding penalties over the second half of 2018 and drew 31 holding calls from 2014-17, 10 more than any other lineman. Robinson, who was ejected from the opener and benched briefly during the season, has 11 penalties in 14 games this season, including five holding calls.
David Njoku missed three months with a wrist injury and has been a healthy scratch in each of the past two weeks.
Olivier Vernon suffered a knee injury in Week 9 and has played just 10 snaps since.
Garrett racked up 10 sacks in his first seven games, but he was suspended for the final six games of the year and indefinitely thereafter for the incident with Rudolph.
Damarious Randall missed five games and Denzel Ward missed four as part of an early-season stretch in which the Browns were occasionally down all four of their starting defensive backs.
Christian Kirksey missed the final 14 games of the year with a torn pectoral muscle.
There were exceptions -- Landry, Nick Chubb, Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson have generally been healthy and effective -- but many of the players who were supposed to be difference-makers for this team haven't been this season.
Should the Browns have seen this coming? In some cases. There's no way the Browns could have passed up trading for Beckham, but the mercurial wideout has played all 16 games only once as a pro. Vernon, his former teammate in New York, hasn't played a full 16 since 2016. Randall has yet to complete a 16-game season in five years as a pro. The other cases seem like they would have been difficult to predict or project.
How to avoid making the same mistake: I'm not sure they can. The Browns are locked in to most of the players I mentioned in this core. They could trade Beckham or cut Vernon or Kirksey, but those moves would just create holes on the roster, especially with Garrett's status uncertain and Joe Schobert's pending free agency.
The Browns will have to hope better coaching gets Mayfield back on track. Njoku's future with the team is interesting, given that he was drafted before general manager John Dorsey arrived and really hasn't done much yet as a pro. Njoku obviously has considerable upside, but with the Browns leaving him inactive for the past two weeks, would Dorsey consider trading the starting tight end he inherited from Sashi Brown?
Entire article: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id...appointing-nfl-teams-barnwell-went-wrong-next
Re: How to avoid making the same mistake: I'm not sure they can.
Just the Browns being the Browns....
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This team of mental lightweights reminds me sooooo much of the Braylon/Anderson/Soljah teams. They’ll flame out next year and blow the whole roster up.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Team needs a head coach who is stresses discipline and accountability...
They have talented players but they someone to mold them into a team..........
They have talented players but they someone to mold them into a team..........
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Why the Browns won’t fire Freddie Kitchens (even though they should)
Retired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz explains why we shouldn’t expect any major changes in Cleveland this offseason.
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I’m not here to tell you that I told you so, but I did tell y’all the Cleveland Browns would be a dysfunctional mess this season under the totally inexperienced head coach Freddie Kitchens and his young hotshot quarterback Baker Mayfield. Well, I was right.
In fact, this season has been even worse than I thought. The Browns have been undisciplined, unprofessional, and an unmitigated disaster.
And guess what, folks? They are running back this crew next season.
The reason the Browns will come back intact next season is ego
Specifically, ego of general manager John Dorsey. I like John Dorsey. He signed me in Kansas City, and then two seasons later he signed my brother, Mitchell, to a large contract. I respect Dorsey, but like most general managers, he’s got a giant ego. And that is going to doom the Browns.
Dorsey built this Browns team. It’s his baby. He took over near the end of their 0-16 season in 2017. He retained Hue Jackson as the coach and traded for Jarvis Landry right after free agency opened in 2018. He drafted Baker Mayfield before the 2018 season. When things started poorly in that season, he made the correct decision and fired Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Gregg Williams was promoted to head coach and Kitchens to offensive coordinator. Mayfield was put into the lineup and Cleveland finished strong in 2018, with high hopes for the team in 2019.
Entering the 2019 offseason, the Browns hired Kitchens as the head coach, traded for Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon, and brought in other pieces like Morgan Burnett and Sheldon Richardson. There was Super Bowl hype, which was always overblown, but the expectations to win the division or make the playoffs as a wild card was real. This team was talented everywhere except offensive line.
I understand why the hype was there, but I told everyone who’d listen why it wouldn’t work. And not to rehash the season, but it didn’t go well. Most people believe changes are needed, and I’m one of them, but they aren’t going to happen.
Here’s what Dorsey and the Browns should do in the offseason
What should happen is Dorsey firing Kitchens and finding an adult to coach this team. A coach who demands accountability and gets the most out of his players. A coach, or offensive coordinator, who can get Mayfield playing confidently and quietly (please), and be able to handle all the personalities on the team. A coach players can trust in the bad times. That coach could be Ron Rivera, Mike McCarthy, or whoever else.
But you need to admit the Freddie Kitchens experiment is over. Every week we get a report that a player is asking to get out. So does Dorsey make those moves? If you hire a new coach, someone whom the players will respect, then you probably don’t have to trade anyone. But if they still want out, you’d 100 percent trade a player like Beckham for draft picks or an offensive lineman. You don’t need more than one excellent wide receiver to win in the NFL.
Look at the Patriots, Ravens, Saints, Niners, etc. They have one stud and then multiple players that fit your scheme. Dorsey then spends his capital this offseason adding offensive linemen, receiving talent, and probably more help on the front seven of the defense. A new coach would have a loaded team with hopefully tampered down expectations. This all sounds great right? Yep, it does.
But it won’t happen.
If Dorsey makes changes, guess whose fault the failures are? His. He built this team. He hired Kitchens. He traded for OBJ. He drafted Mayfield. This is his baby and if he begins to retool the team this offseason, the failures fall squarely on him. If I’m the owner of the Browns, how do I trust Dorsey to find the next coach, or make moves in free agency after the failures of 2019?
So, what is Dorsey doing to avoid this? Running it back for 2020. Hoping Kitchens can mature as a coach. That Mayfield learns from his mistakes and the team bonds with a quiet offseason. Maybe Kitchens makes some coaching changes to bring some new energy into the building.
Now you might say that Dorsey bringing back the same squad will get him fired, and it might. But he’d be on the hot seat if he made a bunch of new changes that didn’t pan on anyway. So it’s either roll back the same squad or build a new one, and I’m guessing he’ll go with the former.
Entire article: https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/1...re-coach-freddie-kitchens-odell-beckham-trade
Retired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz explains why we shouldn’t expect any major changes in Cleveland this offseason.
I’m not here to tell you that I told you so, but I did tell y’all the Cleveland Browns would be a dysfunctional mess this season under the totally inexperienced head coach Freddie Kitchens and his young hotshot quarterback Baker Mayfield. Well, I was right.
In fact, this season has been even worse than I thought. The Browns have been undisciplined, unprofessional, and an unmitigated disaster.
And guess what, folks? They are running back this crew next season.
The reason the Browns will come back intact next season is ego
Specifically, ego of general manager John Dorsey. I like John Dorsey. He signed me in Kansas City, and then two seasons later he signed my brother, Mitchell, to a large contract. I respect Dorsey, but like most general managers, he’s got a giant ego. And that is going to doom the Browns.
Dorsey built this Browns team. It’s his baby. He took over near the end of their 0-16 season in 2017. He retained Hue Jackson as the coach and traded for Jarvis Landry right after free agency opened in 2018. He drafted Baker Mayfield before the 2018 season. When things started poorly in that season, he made the correct decision and fired Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Gregg Williams was promoted to head coach and Kitchens to offensive coordinator. Mayfield was put into the lineup and Cleveland finished strong in 2018, with high hopes for the team in 2019.
Entering the 2019 offseason, the Browns hired Kitchens as the head coach, traded for Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon, and brought in other pieces like Morgan Burnett and Sheldon Richardson. There was Super Bowl hype, which was always overblown, but the expectations to win the division or make the playoffs as a wild card was real. This team was talented everywhere except offensive line.
I understand why the hype was there, but I told everyone who’d listen why it wouldn’t work. And not to rehash the season, but it didn’t go well. Most people believe changes are needed, and I’m one of them, but they aren’t going to happen.
Here’s what Dorsey and the Browns should do in the offseason
What should happen is Dorsey firing Kitchens and finding an adult to coach this team. A coach who demands accountability and gets the most out of his players. A coach, or offensive coordinator, who can get Mayfield playing confidently and quietly (please), and be able to handle all the personalities on the team. A coach players can trust in the bad times. That coach could be Ron Rivera, Mike McCarthy, or whoever else.
But you need to admit the Freddie Kitchens experiment is over. Every week we get a report that a player is asking to get out. So does Dorsey make those moves? If you hire a new coach, someone whom the players will respect, then you probably don’t have to trade anyone. But if they still want out, you’d 100 percent trade a player like Beckham for draft picks or an offensive lineman. You don’t need more than one excellent wide receiver to win in the NFL.
Look at the Patriots, Ravens, Saints, Niners, etc. They have one stud and then multiple players that fit your scheme. Dorsey then spends his capital this offseason adding offensive linemen, receiving talent, and probably more help on the front seven of the defense. A new coach would have a loaded team with hopefully tampered down expectations. This all sounds great right? Yep, it does.
But it won’t happen.
If Dorsey makes changes, guess whose fault the failures are? His. He built this team. He hired Kitchens. He traded for OBJ. He drafted Mayfield. This is his baby and if he begins to retool the team this offseason, the failures fall squarely on him. If I’m the owner of the Browns, how do I trust Dorsey to find the next coach, or make moves in free agency after the failures of 2019?
So, what is Dorsey doing to avoid this? Running it back for 2020. Hoping Kitchens can mature as a coach. That Mayfield learns from his mistakes and the team bonds with a quiet offseason. Maybe Kitchens makes some coaching changes to bring some new energy into the building.
Now you might say that Dorsey bringing back the same squad will get him fired, and it might. But he’d be on the hot seat if he made a bunch of new changes that didn’t pan on anyway. So it’s either roll back the same squad or build a new one, and I’m guessing he’ll go with the former.
Entire article: https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/1...re-coach-freddie-kitchens-odell-beckham-trade
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Another opinion....
The 5 most fireable NFL coaches of the 2019 season
Whose seats are hottest after disappointing seasons? The answers ... probably won’t surprise you.
2. Freddie Kitchens, Browns
Cleveland had the ball and a 6-0 lead at the two-minute warning in the second quarter against the Ravens. Kitchens found a way to turn that into a 14-6 halftime deficit.
Granted, some of that collapse was thanks to Lamar Jackson’s otherworldly play, but Kitchens did his offense few favors with too-cute playcalling and some regrettable clock management. His halfback pass on third-and-1 fooled nobody, and the fact it went for an 8-yard loss may have been the only thing that kept him from going for it on fourth down from his own 28.
The Ravens, out of timeouts, scored on the following drive. And they scored on the drive after that because three straight incompletions only ate up 18 seconds of game clock, effectively daring Jackson to burn them once more. It was another brutal gut-punch in a season full of them for the erstwhile AFC North favorites.
Confusing clock management is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Kitchens’ problems. The first-year head coach’s promotion was predicated on his ability to turn Cleveland’s turgid offense into one of the league’s most dangerous units. He made Baker Mayfield look like a borderline MVP candidate after taking over as interim offensive coordinator. Then he took that team and added All-Pros Odell Beckham Jr. and Kareem Hunt (for half a season).
And the Browns have gone from ranking 12th in the league in weighed DVOA in 2018 to 23rd in 2019.
Beckham, still fiercely committed to the team that freed him from New York last spring, took notice — one week after Jarvis Landry had a similarly public discussion with his head coach over playcalling.
Kitchens is losing on the field and potentially losing in his own locker room. That all spells disaster for his hopes of returning for a year two. But maybe team owner John Dorsey will chalk this all up to rookie mistakes and give him the runway to learn from and fix those issues.
Entire article: https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/1...rett-cowboys-freddie-kitchens-browns-hot-seat
The 5 most fireable NFL coaches of the 2019 season
Whose seats are hottest after disappointing seasons? The answers ... probably won’t surprise you.
2. Freddie Kitchens, Browns
Cleveland had the ball and a 6-0 lead at the two-minute warning in the second quarter against the Ravens. Kitchens found a way to turn that into a 14-6 halftime deficit.
Granted, some of that collapse was thanks to Lamar Jackson’s otherworldly play, but Kitchens did his offense few favors with too-cute playcalling and some regrettable clock management. His halfback pass on third-and-1 fooled nobody, and the fact it went for an 8-yard loss may have been the only thing that kept him from going for it on fourth down from his own 28.
The Ravens, out of timeouts, scored on the following drive. And they scored on the drive after that because three straight incompletions only ate up 18 seconds of game clock, effectively daring Jackson to burn them once more. It was another brutal gut-punch in a season full of them for the erstwhile AFC North favorites.
Confusing clock management is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Kitchens’ problems. The first-year head coach’s promotion was predicated on his ability to turn Cleveland’s turgid offense into one of the league’s most dangerous units. He made Baker Mayfield look like a borderline MVP candidate after taking over as interim offensive coordinator. Then he took that team and added All-Pros Odell Beckham Jr. and Kareem Hunt (for half a season).
And the Browns have gone from ranking 12th in the league in weighed DVOA in 2018 to 23rd in 2019.
Beckham, still fiercely committed to the team that freed him from New York last spring, took notice — one week after Jarvis Landry had a similarly public discussion with his head coach over playcalling.
Kitchens is losing on the field and potentially losing in his own locker room. That all spells disaster for his hopes of returning for a year two. But maybe team owner John Dorsey will chalk this all up to rookie mistakes and give him the runway to learn from and fix those issues.
Entire article: https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/1...rett-cowboys-freddie-kitchens-browns-hot-seat
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Kitchens is a clown...
If I'm Todd Monken and the clowns keep Kitchens after this debacle of a season, I clean out my office immediately after the game and tell Kitchens and the entire FO to "fuck off."
If I'm Todd Monken and the clowns keep Kitchens after this debacle of a season, I clean out my office immediately after the game and tell Kitchens and the entire FO to "fuck off."
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AuTX Buckeye
Founder & Pres of the Flemming/Holtmann Fan Club
Yahoo Pickem Champ
Former Game Champion
Right after i make them write me a giant check :)
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OHSportsFan
Fan of Ohio Sports in Indy
This guy wants so badly to not be known as a dumb hick and will never admit he’s the dumbest guy in the room.
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It's been said a number of times, but I can remember few occasions where an NFL coach appeared so in over his head. A recent example would be Jim Tomsula with the Niners in 2015 who was hired under very similar circumstances...as a popular assistant who had little-to-no experience as a coordinator and had no business even being in the discussion to become a HC.
I think it's pride more than anything, Re: Kitchens/Monken. The offense has been severely disjointed this year and Monken has a history of leading some pretty impressive offenses. If Monken gets to call plays and the offense suddenly looks competent, that makes Kitchens look really bad...especially if it's this late in the game and they wasted essentially an entire season with him calling plays. The whole premise of a HC who had a grand total of 8 games as a coordinator calling plays on top of his HC duties was asinine from the start and would easily explain why this team has been such an undisciplined mess all season.
There is zero reason to bring Kitchens back next year other than ego, as mentioned in the article a few posts up. He has no business being a HC. If he does come back, he HAS to be ordered to relinquish play calling responsibility and concentrate on being more of a CEO. This season showed he obviously can't handle both. It's been a massive debacle from week 1.
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cincibuck
You kids stay off my lawn!
1. Get rid of those horrible turd brown uniforms.
2. Go back to the historic all-white home unis, sable brown jerseys on the road over white pants. Look like a football team and not a fertilized farm field.
3. Draft for O line and defense.
4. Speaking of dog shit, get rid of Baker Hayfield (sic). You should have seen he was undisciplined when he planted the flag in Ohio Stadium. You can get someone who won't poison the locker room, freestyle on the field, and act like an ass off the field, for now and then draft a future who doesn't act like a jerk - like Baker and Manziel.
5. Make sure you get rid of the folks who pushed you to draft Manziell and Hayfield. They're obviously fucked.
2. Go back to the historic all-white home unis, sable brown jerseys on the road over white pants. Look like a football team and not a fertilized farm field.
3. Draft for O line and defense.
4. Speaking of dog shit, get rid of Baker Hayfield (sic). You should have seen he was undisciplined when he planted the flag in Ohio Stadium. You can get someone who won't poison the locker room, freestyle on the field, and act like an ass off the field, for now and then draft a future who doesn't act like a jerk - like Baker and Manziel.
5. Make sure you get rid of the folks who pushed you to draft Manziell and Hayfield. They're obviously fucked.
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