Browns acquire Tytus Howard from Houston

  The reconstruction of the Cleveland Browns' offensive line began today with a surprising trade with the Houston Texans (Sidebar: doesn't it seem like it's almost always the Texans or the Jacksonville Jaguars with whom the Browns trade?) to acquire Tytus Howard for a fifth-round draft pick in the upcoming draft.

Cleveland traded the fifth-rounder that they acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders for quarterback Kenny Pickett, which is the highest of the three fifth-rounders Cleveland owned before trading for Howard.

Here's the good and bad news on Tytus Howard.

The good news is that, from the Texans writers, Howard was the team's best offensive lineman last season, and Houston did make the playoffs, so he can't be awful.

The bad news is that, depending on the source, the Texans' offensive line was ranked between 24th and 27th, and they were especially poor as run blockers.

Howard had one year remaining on his contract (seventeen and a half million) but immediately signed a two-year extension with the offensive line- starved Browns, so the twenty-nine-year-old Howard is now under team control through the 2028 season.

Howard spent his entire career with Houston after the Texans drafted him in the first round of the 2019 draft (23rd overall) from Division 1-AA Alabama State. He has been durable, playing in 14 or more games in six of his last seven seasons, and is versatile enough to play either guard or right tackle.

Howard spent most of the 2025 season at left guard for Houston, but the early press on the trade mentions Howard as a right tackle, so it could be Howard's job to protect the flank of whoever is the Cleveland quarterback.

The Browns are forced to attempt to plug the offensive line holes (they literally could lose all five starters, unless you count Dawand Jones as a starter, who was injured early in the season) through free agency, trades, and the draft, and All-Pro linemen generally aren't available through the first two avenues.

This means usually teams in this predicament will be paying over value for average players, and I think that's what the Browns have done here.

They are bringing in an average tackle for the first pick in the fifth round and overpaying him a little, but I can't say I hate the move.

I could see the Browns getting through 2026 with Howard at tackle and then moving him inside to guard for the final two years of his contract, where he is better suited.

Browns trade for Cam Robinson

 Desperate times require chances to be taken, and the desperate offensive tackle situation for the Cleveland Browns forced a chance as the Browns traded for veteran tackle Cam Robinson from the Houston Texans.

Cleveland traded their 2027 sixth-round pick to the Texans for their 2027 seventh-round draft choice and  Robinson, which is a nominal fee to address this problem for the remainder of the year.

Robinson is twenty-nine and spent the first seven and a half years of his career with Jacksonville, which drafted him in the second round from Alabama in 2017.

Midway through last season, Robinson was traded to Minnesota, where he finished the year and signed with Houston as a free agent in the offseason.

Robinson played in Houston's first three games, starting one, but was inactive in Houston's game yesterday as the trade was worked out.

The 6'6, 335-pound Robinson is in his ninth season, has started over one hundred games in his career, is known for his strength in pass blocking, and should be exactly what the Browns are looking for right now- a veteran left tackle who can steady the ship at the position.

The cost is reasonable, the need is vast, and Robinson is signed only through the end of the season, so the financial obligation isn't high. So credit Andrew Berry for attempting to do something rather than running lesser players out and hoping for the best.

Cam Robinson isn't a Pro Bowl tackle, but he's solid enough to get by with at left tackle at a time when the alternatives are severely lacking.

No Defense in Houston-Browns hammered in playoffs

    The Cleveland Browns were favored to come into Houston to defeat the Texans based on their swaggering bullying defense and the surprising play of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco.

Instead, those two parts of the team were major factors in an implosion that saw Cleveland on the downside of a devastating 45-14 defeat to the Texans and their young quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Joe Flacco finished with 307 passing yards with a touchdown pass along with two interceptions.

Kareem Hunt scored both the Browns touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving in the defeat.

Brownie Bits

1) This one goes on the supposedly "best of all-time" defense and not because they allowed forty-five points as fourteen of the Houston total is on the Browns offense.

2) Why? Look at the vaunted pass rush, which not only didn't sack C.J. Stroud, they seldom pressured him.

Some of that is because of the quick release of Stroud but the Texans' offensive line more than did their job in keeping Stroud from any harassment from the Browns.

3) Myles Garrett is a possible defensive player of the year but was outplayed by tackle Laremy Tunsil in the game that mattered most as Tunsil handled Garrett's pass rush.

Garrett finished with two solo tackles and an assist and more importantly, never hit C.J. Stroud.

4) Perhaps Tunsil has success against Garrett because he is familiar with him (both players played in the SEC), and because Tunsil has that experience blocking Garrett along with being a fine tackle himself, Garrett lacks the intimidation factor that he has against so many blockers.

5) The only Cleveland defender who made any impact in the game was Jeremiah Owosu-Koramoah, who finished with eight solo tackles, four of those for a loss of yardage.

Owosu-Koramoah was the best player on the defense in the latter part of this season and I'm looking forward to his development next season.

6) As bad as the loss could have been, Houston could have put the game away by halftime had they made two plays.

Tight end Dalton Schultz dropped a pass that would have been a huge gain, and C.J. Stroud overthrew Nico Collins on a pattern that he would have easily scored, so this could have been even more lopsided.

7) The Browns pass defense was battered all day with the Texans targeting Greg Newsome all game long.

Houston took advantage of Newsome and almost seemed to look to throw to the player that he (or Ronnie Hickman) was near and threw to that receiver.

8) The Browns had success hitting David Njoku, who was the one player that the Texans didn't have an answer for.

Njoku caught seven passes for ninety-three yards, including a forty-five-yard throw, and when you consider Harrison Bryant's forty-seven-yard reception, the Browns might have been smart to throw to the tight ends even more often.

Njoku and Bryant combined for eleven catches and one hundred fifty-eight yards.

9) The back breakers for Cleveland were the two interceptions of Joe Flacco that the Texans returned for touchdowns.

On the first throw, I can't blame Flacco too much as he was trying to throw the ball away and he was hit as he threw but on the other throw, Flacco was at full fault.

Flacco's numbers look fine but his statistics belie the interceptions that gave the Browns no chance to recover.

10) Kevin Stefanski is getting some criticism and I don't feel much of it is justified.

Other than the decision to allow the final forty-five seconds to roll off the first half and not even try to move downfield for a field goal attempt, I didn't see much to blame Stefanski for in the loss.

11) Houston had been broiled by Amari Cooper in their first meeting with Cleveland and they weren't about to allow that to happen again.

Cooper caught four of five passes but the longest was for only nineteen yards.

12) This game showed that the Browns got away with turnovers all season (Cleveland turned the ball over more than anyone in the NFL) and when you play good teams, they will make you pay for turning the ball over.

13) I'm not sure that the Browns are guaranteed to improve next season.

Cleveland won a lot of games this season that in past seasons didn't go their way and when you have a team that receives break after break during one season, they often will regress during the next season.

14) Should the Browns expect to contend, they will have to add one, if not two receivers for next season.

I like Cedric Tillman and David Bell but neither is ready to be a second wide receiver, Elijah Moore can be helpful but he's not quite as he was advertised and that's assuming the cap space can be provided to pay Amari Cooper for 2024 over twenty million dollars.

The Browns would have done well to pay DeAndre Hopkins, who finished with over 1,000 yards for a mediocre Tennessee team when they had the opportunity before the season and hopefully, Andrew Berry will realize that keeping Amari Cooper along with a solid second wideout isn't a luxury- it is a must.

15) This season has been a fun one for the fans of the Browns.

The Joe Flacco story was an amazing ride and the dodging of losses gave the team a shine that they haven't had in years.

Despite the loss, as disappointed as I am, it was still a good season.

I think this was a winnable game and that bothers me far more than a round two loss would have.

Now it's on the offseason and how a team can possibly improve themselves with the salary issues in place, it will be a very interesting one.  

Cooper hangs loss on Houston

   Amari Cooper set an all-time Browns record for receiving yardage at 265 yards on eleven catches, two of those for touchdowns as the Cleveland Browns defeated the Houston Texans 36-22 in Houston.

Joe Flacco threw for 368 yards and three touchdowns for Cleveland in the win as the Browns improved to 10-5 on the season.

Cleveland did not clinch a playoff position with the win but their playoff chances are ninety-six percent after the victory.

The Browns will host their final regular season home game on Thursday night against the Jets, with a  win clinching a playoff spot.

Brownie Bits

1) The record-setting game by Amari Cooper broke the record previously held by Josh Gordon and the record-breaking catch came late in the game when the Browns discovered Cooper was only ten yards off the pace.

2) Amari Cooper entered himself into the record books in two other positions, one of which is a surprise.

Cooper became the first Browns receiver in history to record consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

That's a surprise considering some of the receivers in Browns history, a few of which are in Canton.

3) Cooper also joined Terrell Owens as the only receiver to post one thousand-yard receiving seasons with three teams.
Cooper with the Raiders, Cowboys, and now the Browns while Owens made his mark with the 49ers, Cowboys, and Bills.

4) Joe Flacco's day was excellent and while he threw two interceptions, one was excusable as the Browns were forced to go for it on a play near the end of the first half as an injury to Dustin Hopkins took a field goal attempt off the table.

5) I really liked the play call by Kevin Stefanski on the first drive that targeted Amari Cooper deep for a fifty-three-yard gain to the Houston six-yard line and set up the Browns first score.

Stefanski is at his best when he attacks but isn't overly clever in his playcalling. Starting the game aggressively downfield has lower risks than the gimmicky short-yardage plays he often used with DeShaun Watson.

6) Dustin Hopkins pulled a hamstring chasing Houston's Dameon Pierce on Pierce's kick return score.

This forced the Browns to eschew any field goal attempts and to try for two-point conversions after touchdowns, which the Browns were successful on two of three chances.

7) I'm still determining the status of Dustin Hopkins but with a short week to prepare for the Jets, I would be extremely surprised if Hopkins kicks on Thursday night.

The question then becomes- who will be the kicker for the Browns on such short notice and how much experience will he have?

Former Browns Cade York and Zane Gonzalez are available and the name often mentioned in the past has been veteran Robbie Gould, although Gould may not be in shape after not kicking all season.

I wonder if this could be a damaging blow to the Browns, depending on how long Hopkins could be out of the lineup when you consider how excellent he has kicked this season.

8) I worried about the Browns patchwork offensive line against a solid Houston pass rush but Cleveland caught a break with Will Anderson unable to play and Jonathan Greenard, the leader in sacks for Houston, left the game early with an injury.

The Browns line didn't allow a sack of the less-than-agile Joe Flacco, so they played well, even if they caught a break in personnel not being available for Houston.

9) The Browns defense gave up two late touchdowns with the game well in hand but had kept Houston off the board before that and despite it being Case Keenum rather than C.J. Stroud in another lucky pull for the Browns, the defense played well, sacking Keenum and Davis Mills three times.

10) Za'Darius Smith had two of those sacks and had a third overturned due to a Cleveland penalty.

I wouldn't say Smith has disappointed in his first season with Cleveland but he hasn't quite been the force that the Browns expected opposite Myles Garrett with five and a half sacks this season.

11) Cleveland may have had a sizable lead at halftime but the finisher was the eighteen-play, ninety-four-yard drive in the third quarter.

Possessions that end in touchdowns on long, punishing drives can grind down defenses and help your defense not only in rest but in how you can play on the field as the opponent is limited in just what they can do with a deficit and time winding away.

12) I mentioned the ninety-six percent chance of a playoff spot for the Browns.

A win against the Jets would clinch but here is the scenario that would keep the Browns on the outside.

Lose to the Jets and Bengals. Buffalo wins at least one of their two games, and two of these teams win both their games, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Houston (one of the three will win the AFC South), Pittsburgh or Cincinnati- And even then it would come down to tiebreakers.

Cleveland could make things a lot easier by polishing off the Jets on Thursday but even if they don't, the Browns still seem in solid shape.

Browns take down Texans 27-14

 The long-anticipated Cleveland Browns debut of DeShaun Watson was supposed to cure some offensive ills but it was two defensive touchdowns by Denzel Ward and Tony Fields combined with a Donovan Peoples-Jones punt return for a score that accounted for Cleveland's end zone visits in a 27-14 win over the hapless Houston Texans in Houston.

Watson would finish with only twelve completions from twenty-two throws for 131 yards and threw an interception into the Houston red one to end a scoring threat.

Nick Chubb rushed for eighty yards on seventeen carries and Kareem Hunt added fifty-six yards on nine carries to lead the offense.

Cleveland improved to 5-7 with the victory and will travel down I-71 to visit the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday.

Brownie Bits

1) The big question was how DeShaun Watson would be treated in his return to Houston and while I'm sure there was some noise made and plenty of comments, they didn't really come across on the television broadcast.

This could be due to the Texans seeming to have poisoned a once-robust fan base into just ambivalence so it will be interesting to see how Watson is treated next week by the Cincinnati crowd.

2) I didn't expect DeShaun Watson to be sharp and he wasn't.

On the interception in the end zone to Jalen Pitre, he had a receiver open (Donovan Peoples-Jones) and instead attempted to squeeze it into Amari Cooper.

Those things will hopefully develop as Watson plays more often, even if the payoff doesn't arrive until next season.

3) On a few plays though, you could see what Watson could bring to the Browns as he scrambled around the pocket, tucked the ball down, and ran for a first down on an eleven-yard dash.

There are some things that Watson will need to work on but the mobility is still there intact.

4) The Browns entered this game with three interceptions in the previous eleven games but picked two passes in this win, including John Johnson's grab on the first offensive play of the game.

Johnson's interception didn't result in any points but it did set the stage for the Browns defense to make big plays throughout the game.

5) It was a big game for second-year linebacker Tony Fields, who forced a fumble that led to a touchdown, recovered a fumble, and grabbed a ball that was deflected by Chase Winovich, running sixteen yards for a touchdown.

Fields saw some action last week against Tampa Bay and could see even more playing time between his play against Houston and a second-half injury to Sione Takitaki that looked somewhat serious.

6) The other touchdown from the defense was really strange as Fields hit a sneaking Kyle Allen at the Houston two, knocking the ball loose, and seemed like no one saw the football except Denzel Ward, who strolled into the end zone untouched early in the third quarter.

7) Cleveland's other touchdown came from Donovan Peoples-Jones, who returned a punt seventy-six yards for the Browns first score late in the first half.

Peoples-Jones's return was the first punt return touchdown dating back to 2015 and Travis Benjamin.

For a team with so many great returners in their history, the Browns have had major issues filling the void since Josh Cribbs other than Travis Benjamin for a short time.

8) I was disappointed when Nick Chubb was tackled for a safety in the first half as Houston's defensive line pushed the Browns offensive line back and Chubb never came close to getting out of the end zone.

Remember that while it is only needed to break the plane of the goal line to score a touchdown, to avoid a safety the ball needs to completely reside outside of the end zone at the time of the tackle.

10) Other than that, the Browns had no problems running the ball against the Texans and Kareem Hunt looked as good as he has been all season on his carries.

11) Houston is the worst team in the league for a reason and the Browns couldn't score an offensive touchdown against them.

DeShaun Watson will need some time to really sharpen his skills and while the offense has been waiting for him as the savior, he isn't likely to be that for this season anyway.

The Browns missed David Njoku and Watson will naturally improve when his tight end is part of the weapons that he has on the field.

I'd still argue that the Browns need to upgrade those targets in the offseason to give Watson the best chance to succeed but that can wait until another time.

DeShaun Watson will face a good team in the Bengals next week and though they have their defensive issues as well, Cincinnati is much better than Houston, and the Browns have had the Bengals number in the last few seasons, so the Bengals will be much more motivated than one would suspect for a game against a 5-7 team.

We won't receive all the answers next week but we will likely get a few and they will go a long way toward the Browns playing for something in the final month of the season or playing out the string as they get a feeling for DeShaun Watson and what he does best in their offense.  

DeShaun Watson suspended for six games

  The news finally came down today and the Cleveland Browns gamble on DeShaun Watson will have to wait a little longer to see what the Browns traded for as arbitrator Sue L. Robinson suspended Watson for the first six games of the 2022 season.

Robinson's recommendation isn't final as the league can file an appeal of the suspension within three days in which commissioner Roger Goodell could impose a harsher sentence along the lines of the league's asked for suspension of one year and a fine of multiple million dollars.

Roger Goodell is tucked into a tough corner- retain the suspension and catch the wrath of female fans for the long term.

Overturn and lengthen the Watson suspension and the NFLPA will have a reason to question their agreement to use an arbitrator in these matters.

After all, it does seem to be a waste of time to go through a process to avoid Roger Goodell as the judge and jury, if Goodell can simply override the opinion of the agreed-to neutral arbitrator.

I'm not going to offer an opinion on the correct length of the suspension or even compare it to other cases that Roger Goodell has ruled on in the past but putting my status as a Browns fan aside for a minute, I think the suspension should stay as-is.

I realize that is self-serving but I'll fall back on this-What good does it do to have an independent neutral arbitrator, if you establish that Roger Goodell can still brush their decision aside?

I think I'd say that even if the suspension would not have been Browns-friendly because it just doesn't make sense to have an unbiased party decide and it can then go back to Roger Goodell for his ruling.

The NFLPA would likely file suit should Goodell increase the suspension and there will definitely be long-term ramifications as when the next labor agreement expires at the end of the 2030 season.

I know that's eight years away but that doesn't mean that the next negotiations wouldn't start with one foot in a hole over this as it's more likely than not that DeShaun Watson is still playing in the league at that time.

I'm not sure that we have heard the end of this topic yet but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The question is who is holding the lantern?

Browns change DeShaun Watson's mind!

    In what can only be considered to be a stunning turn of events, Quarterback DeShaun Watson reversed his decision of the previous afternoon and waived his no-trade clause, and accepted the Cleveland Browns as his destination of choice to give the Browns arguably their best quarterback since Otto Graham and at least their best since the days of Bernie Kosar in the 80s.

The Browns will send Houston their first-round picks in the 2022, 23, and 24 drafts along with a third-rounder in 2023 and a fourth-rounder in 2024 in exchange for Watson and a 2024 fifth-rounder from the Texans.

Watson had eliminated the Browns from the four teams (also Saints, Falcons, and Panthers) that were attempting to acquire his services from the Texans Thursday afternoon but the Browns worked their way back into contention with an offer that signed Watson to a new five-year contract worth 230 million and the factor that likely changed the mind of Watson- fully guaranteed the contract.

The Browns were taking lots of heat for pursuing Watson and not landing him, which then caused Baker Mayfield to demand a trade,  and faced with a choice of starting a mediocre and disgruntled Mayfield or having to start a free agent from a group that wasn't a major improvement on even Mayfield, the Browns acted decisively and took the risk of acquiring one of the top quarterbacks in the league.

Considering that the Browns were catching hell for going after Watson, getting even more for not getting him, and maybe most of all for upsetting Baker Mayfield and the "Baker Bros" for either the "Disrespect" (Mayfield fans) or "looking to upgrade" (Browns fans).

That could have caused the Browns front office (Andrew Berry) and even more likely Jimmy Haslem to I don't really want to use this term but it fits, panic about the team being in major chaos that could last throughout the season should they have to play Mayfield all season, and go back to Watson in desperation and more than likely offer the full guarantee that changed his mind.

Watson likely downgraded the Browns a bit because of the colder weather and Watson's personal connections to both the Falcons and Panthers but comparing the Browns roster to those teams (and the other contender in New Orleans) as a likely championship contender ( with the addition of Watson) along with the new guaranteed contract were the top factors in changing the mind of Watson and bringing him to Cleveland.

While panic is a harsh word, I don't mean it in a completely negative manner.

The Browns know that in a conference that has quarterbacks that go possibly ten-deep in better quarterbacks than the one they have.

Sidebar: So you believe I'm biased against Mayfield?  Tell me which of these players that Baker Mayfield is superior to?

For the purpose of this and since he didn't play last season and wasn't returning to Houston, I didn't add Watson to this list.

No way in hell category: Mahomes (Kansas City), Herbert (LA Chargers), Wilson (Denver), Burrow (Cincinnati), Allen (Buffalo)

Better but not elite: Carr (Las Vegas), Jackson (Baltimore),

Younger but better upside: Lawrence (Jacksonville), Jones (New England)

Comparable: Tannehill (Tennessee) Trubisky (Pittsburgh) before you scream about Trubisky, he did take the Bears to the playoffs twice and with better kicking would have won a playoff game- the same total as Baker Mayfield.

That leaves Mayfield in either tenth, eleventh or twelfth (depending on the person choosing) and over only two young unproven quarterbacks with bad supporting casts (Zach Wilson Jets and Davis Mills (Houston), one young quarterback that hasn't impressed me (Tua Tagovailoa Miami) and for now the vacancy with the Colts.

Under those circumstances and especially with five of the top seven quarterbacks under thirty and another (Carr) only thirty, the Browns had to feel the need to do something and do it quickly in order to compete for championships.

So Watson taking Cleveland off his list had to have placed the Browns in full action mode in what to do.

They had these choices- Keep Mayfield and the drama that would surely follow for 2022 and look for someone new for 2023.

Move Mayfield and settle for a stopgap like Jimmy Garroppolo or Marcus Mariota and renew the search in 2023

Or try to change the mind of Watson and grab a quarterback that ranks with the elite.

Under those circumstances, the move was a clear and decisive move by the Browns.

One would have to assume that Watson will miss some time in 2022 as he will likely be suspended for what I would guess to be four to eight games for his off-the-field issues and civil court cases leaving the Browns in search of a second-string quarterback.

Who the backup quarterback will be as important as that player will likely be the Browns starter for a period of time that will likely decide possibly the AFC North title and even home playoff games, so I'm interested to see who the Browns are looking for.

I kinda like Marcus Mariota as someone that resembles Watson's playing style and could get the Browns through a likely Watson suspension.

I'll likely deal with the risks that come with DeShaun Watson in a future post but without his background problems, a quarterback with his talent and his age (Baker Mayfield is actually six months older), Watson would have never been available for a trade without those situations.

Teams don't trade franchise-level quarterbacks without a reason and Watson instantly slots into the Mahomes, Burrow, Herbert, Allen category as elite and young enough to give the Browns a decade of not having to worry about the quarterback position.

I plan on doing a post (or two) on why this trade was a great idea and why it could backfire over the next few days and although I do have some concerns, which I will address in those posts, it is very difficult to complain about the football end of this trade.

Back later with the evening's boxing challenge. 

Browns notch first win over Texans 31-21

    The Cleveland Browns pulled away in the second half to win their home opener over the Houston Texans 31-21.

Baker Mayfield completed 19 of 21 passes with a touchdown, Nick Chubb scored a touchdown with 95 yards rushing, and rookie Demetric Felton caught Mayfield's touchdown pass to lead the team with 51 yards receiving.

The Browns improved to 1-1 with the victory and will host the 1-1  Chicago Bears next Sunday.

Brownie Bits

1) The Browns didn't look completely smooth in their win but there were a few very bright spots in the win.

The main thing is the win over a team that you expect to defeat.

2) Baker Mayfield left the game in the first half with a shoulder injury that immediately made you wonder how seriously he was injured,

Mayfield gutted his way through the game and give him full credit for toughness as well as his leadership.

3) Mayfield injured the shoulder on a tackle on his only interception but the interception wasn't on Mayfield in my opinion.

Anthony Schwartz cut off his route and enabled Houston's Justin Reid to snare the pass.

4) Baker Mayfield's accuracy was excellent with 19 of 21 passes and Kevin Stefanski helped a bit in that area after the shoulder injury by leaning on the running game and passes that got the ball out quickly to avoid Mayfield taking hits that could be avoided.

5) As for that running game. Nick Chubb's 95 yards came on only eleven carries and his late touchdown put the game in the Cleveland win column.

6) Chubb's 26-yard score almost seemed like he was on the field by himself running down the field.

The offensive line blew off the ball and the play was extremely well blocked.

7) The biggest loss was wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who left the game on the Browns first possession and did not return to what has been reported as a sprained MCL.

Landry is listed as week to week and even if Odell Beckham is able to return to the field against the Bears, I look for the Browns to use the tight ends even more in Landry's absence- especially Harrison Bryant.

Just a hunch.

8) Sixth-round draft pick Demetric Felton was thought to be a possible steal when he was selected as one of those "Swiss Army Knife" weapons as a running back and receiver.

Felton beat out special teams ace Khadarel Hodge, who was well-liked by the coaching staff, for a roster spot and he showed against Houston just what he can add to an offense when he grabbed a screen pass from Baker Mayfield and turned it into a 33-yard touchdown pass when he avoided being tackled three times.

Felton reminds me a bit of Darren Sproles, who filled a similar role for a few different teams in the league for over a decade.

If Felton can approach that standard, the Browns are going to be quite happy.

9) My favorite draft pick of the Browns 2020 draft was safety Grant Delpit in the second round but a torn Achilles tendon in training camp kept Delpit from making his debut until the game against the Texans.
Delpit proved to be worth the wait as the safety finished with five tackles, a late sack that caused a fumble, and almost added an interception.

Delpit is going to make a larger and larger impact as this season moves on.

10) The downside was that Delput's sack/fumble was the only one of the day for the Browns pass rush.

Hopefully against a rookie in Justin Fields, the Browns can step that up this Sunday against the Bears.

Houston Texans- The Power of the Pulpit

   The schedule for the Cavaliers and Devils thus far have rarely intersected with the good news for that being that I have been able to watch both teams often.

The bad news is that I haven't had as much time to write other pieces or clean the inbox, so I'm trying to make time today with the situation in Houston.

These two articles from Sports Illustrated, Here and Here, are about the almost-cult-like conditions surrounding the franchise and how they have placed themselves on the verge of losing the greatest offensive player in franchise history.

My nephew, Jeff Heimberger has been a Houston Texans fan since the franchise was created, but the craziness down in Houston that seems to revolve around a fellow named Jack Easterby has Jeff questioning his fandom and considering a move to another team.

Easterby is a former team chaplain and relationship coach that has maneuvered his way all the way into personnel involvement and the only person that the Texans owner, Cal McNair, will listen to on almost any team issue.

Jeff has been telling me about Easterby for months, but I only knew a little about the situation until recently when Easterby has seemingly been heavily involved (when the Texans insisted that he would not) in the Texans hiring their general manager (Nick Caserio, an Easterby pal from his New England days) and coach ( Ravens passing game coordinator David Culley) with Easterby reported to be key in the hiring process.

Caserio is regarded well in the league, but so many of the Patriot gang has struggled after leaving Foxboro and as for Culley, I've never heard his name even rumored for a head coaching job, his last job was passing game coordinator for a team that finished last in passing, will be 66 years old when the season starts and missed a game last season due to illness.

While Culley appears to be one of the strangest coaching hires in quite a while, the lack of personnel currently on the Texans and the decision-making under Bill O'Brien is astoundingly awful which has left the Texans talent-light except for a few stars and having traded multiple high picks.

The O'Brien/Easterby crew has created a franchise that has little ability to add talent around DeShaun Watson if he could be convinced to stay and might have to trade one of the top quarterbacks in the game in his prime to add talent that the team needs.

In other words, the Texans are cornered- keep Watson, and other than offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and an aging J.J. Watt, Houston has no top-level players and look to be at the bottom of the league for quite a while.

Trade Watson and you've lost a player that rarely comes along at quarterback, plus considering how the personnel department has operated with Jack Easterby around, can you feel confident that the team will get the incoming picks right?

After all, Easterby is the person that was behind the trading of Deandre Hopkins and a fourth-rounder to the Cardinals for a past his prime, David Johnson, a second and fourth-rounder with the second-rounder going to the Rams for Brandon Cooks, a lesser receiver, so if he's involved in personnel there are plenty of doubts.

This seems like one of those sports stories that we will find out the complete story of this down the road in what may make a very interesting book, but from what I've read Jack Easterby sure seems like a televangelist that preaches one thing and behaves differently once a back is turned.

One thing is for sure- the Houston Texans have a mess on their hands that might the worst that the NFL has seen in a while.

It's one thing to have little talent, and even lacking high draft picks, but to have both problems with a Jack Easterby in charge?

Pro sports may not have seen a mess this bad since Ted Stepien ran the Cleveland Cavaliers into the ground in the 1980s...

Browns ground Texans 10-7

   Through rain, snow, sleet, and hail.

That was once the motto of the United States Postal Service, but it should be the motto of the ground game of the Cleveland Browns, who used one hundred games from Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt to cut through the wind and defeat the Houston Texans 10-7 in Cleveland.

Chubb finished with 126 yards and the only Browns touchdown and Hunt added 104 to lead an otherwise anemic Cleveland offense in the win in the middle of three Browns' home games.

Cleveland improved to 6-3 with the victory and will host the Eagles in Cleveland next Sunday.

Brownie Bits

1)  The talk around the Browns fan base was the long run at the end of the game by Nick Chubb in which he could have easily scored, but instead stepped out of bounds to essentially give Houston no chance of a comeback.

A touchdown likely would have left Houston with only a crazy prayer of winning, but the step out did allow the Browns to kneel twice to end the game.

2) Chubb's decision allowed those kneeldowns rather than live plays and one never knows when a key injury can occur.

Smart, especially on a team that isn't known for its depth.

3) The Browns haven't played a game that saw two of their backs finish with over 100 yards in a game since 1966 when Leroy Kelly and Ernie Green accomplished the feat.

4) Nick Chubb finished with more yards, the only touchdown, and the backbreaking run at the end of the game, but Kareem Hunt was just as effective.

Chubb may be the better back overall, but Hunt's numbers would be very similar if used in the same manner.

5) Ok, for the second home game in a row the wind was beyond awful and made the passing game very risky at best.

Still, DeShaun Watson managed to complete twenty of thirty and he's used to playing in a dome.

Baker Mayfield completed twelve of twenty, which is nothing special, but he did manage to avoid the big mistake and the Browns did win so I cannot complain too much, but...

6) One of the reasons that I didn't want Baker Mayfield in the 2018 draft was a concern about having the type of arm strength that you need to power the ball through the cold weather that comes with playing in the AFC North, let alone in Cleveland in a stadium that faces one of the Great Lakes.

I've seen nothing in these two games held in punishing winds to change any of those thoughts.

7) Then there was Myles Garrett, who isn't known for his run defense, stoning Watson on a 4th down run play inside the Browns five late in the second quarter.

That play alone might have won the game in a three point game, but Garrett also finished with two other tackles for losses and a half sack as the dominant player on the field.

8) The wind kept the Texans from trying two field goals during the game and blew another aside, but the Browns were able to keep things in line with the wind on their end.

Cody Parkey knocked in one field goal on the strong wind end (the Dawg Pound) and that was enough to win.

9) Romeo Crennel, having coached in Cleveland, should have known about the wind in Cleveland Stadium.

So why on Earth did Crennel choose to have the wind in his kicker's face in the fourth quarter?

10) The game could have been a shutout, but in the fourth quarter DeShaun Watson appeared to be sacked, hung into the pocket and tossed the ball up for a key completion.

The drive continued and ended with the only Houston touchdown.

11) The now 6-3 Browns have two more must win games against weak sisters Philadelphia and Jacksonville.

Win those two games and the playoffs are in sight, but lose one of those and look out.

Win the games that you should and hope for the best... 

Browns trade Duke Johnson to Houston

The Cleveland Browns were forced into a corner from various moves from the off-season and finally had to end the game as the Browns traded running back Duke Johnson to the Houston Texans.

Johnson had been requesting a trade ever since the Browns signed Kareem Hunt and after Hunt would potentially return from his NFL-enforced suspension, Johnson's role would likely dwindle to that of a situational pass receiving back, which would not thrill the former Miami Hurricane.

Johnson ran for 201 yards last season on 40 carries and caught 47 passes for 429 yards with three of those catches resulting in touchdowns, but as Nick Chubb established himself as a feature running back and Baker Mayfield throwing the ball more to downfield receivers, Johnson's statistics took the largest hit of all the Browns weapons.
Johnson was irked by the signing of Kareem Hunt in the off-season and demanded a trade, despite the teams' assurances to him that even upon Hunt's return from a suspension that Johnson would see plenty of touches.
Johnson was a reluctant participant in mini-camp and the writing appeared on the wall for his departure as Johnson again expressed a wish for a trade and was criticized to the media by Baker Mayfield for not buying into the program.

Johnson's final stats with the Browns showed him rushing for just under 1,300 yards, grabbing 235 passes for close to 2,300 yards and scoring 13 touchdowns as a Brown.
The 2015 third-round choice heads to Houston, where he should become a larger part of a Texans offense that he should step in immediately as the top non-Demetrius Hopkins pass-catching threat in quantity and is likely to see more carries as the second back (Behind Lamar Miller) than he would have behind Nick Chubb (and later Kareem Hunt) in Cleveland.

As for the Browns, sending Johnson to Houston, who has been a common trading partner during recent years, they picked up pretty good value for a running back that they were able to use for four seasons as Cleveland added the Texans 2020 fourth-round draft pick, that will become a third-rounder, if Johnson plays in ten games for Houston, which unless Johnson suffers a severe injury early in the season is a standard that Johnson should easily exceed.
Adding a more than likely third-rounder for a player that you picked in the third and were able to use for four seasons, is quite a solid return and frankly, a higher return than I expected in a trade for Johnson.

I think both teams did well here.
Houston may have paid a little more than I would have for Johnson, but they will have plenty of things that they can do with the versatile Johnson, who will see plenty of snaps.
The Browns gain another pick in the 2020 draft (they have Arizona's sixth for Jamal Taylor and Buffalo's seventh for Corey Coleman) and remove an unhappy player that could have caused a problem in the locker room as the season moved by.

Still have much more to write, so back with more soon!

Browns return to reality- Texans win 29-13

The Cleveland Browns returned to reality after a week filled with smack talk, longshot playoff chatter and attitude as the Houston Texans showed the Browns the difference between contenders and pretenders in a 29-13 Houston win.

Baker Mayfield threw for 397 yards, but only for one score and threw three interceptions in the first half to put the Texans far ahead and never threatened thereafter.
Jarvis Landry caught six passes for 103 yards as the offensive standout.
Cleveland drops to 4-7-1 with the loss and will host Carolina next Sunday.

Brownie Bits

1) The Houston Texans had won eight games in a row and this game was in their stadium.
The last thing that the Browns needed to do was to be talking about how "dangerous" their rookie quarterback was and how "cookie cutter" he is not.
The Browns seemed to think that snapping their road losing streak meant all was well on the road period.
Houston is too good of a team to do that against and the gap between the teams showed,

2) Baker Mayfield still has things to learn off the field with all this yakking from a then 4-6-1 team.
J.J. Watt commented after the game that "Mayfield probably wasn't feeling too dangerous in the first half, probably a little more so in the second".
By that time, however, the game was determined.
Sometimes, you are better off being a little quieter as the week goes on.

3) Still, Baker is a rookie and he'll learn some things as he develops.
His first half was bad with three interceptions and forcing passes as well, but in garbage time in the second half, he looked much better with his one touchdown and even though the Texans were in underneath mode, he was smart enough to take what was given.
Part of the development of a young quarterback.

4) DeShaun Watson has a chip on his shoulder when the Texans play the Browns.
Watson, you may remember, feels that the Browns told him that they would draft him if he was available and did not entering the 2017 draft.
For the second time in two games, Watson seemed especially motivated and even though his numbers don't look special on paper (1 TD 0 Int), Watson was poised and looks to be the real deal in Houston.

5) Even though the Texans moved the football consistently during the game, give the Browns defense credit in allowing just one defensive touchdown.
The Texans being able to move the ball led to five field goals, which allowed the game to be lopsided but could have ended far worse.

6)  Antonio Callaway showed how he could impact a game and he showed that work still needs to be finished as he caught what would have been a 77-yard reception as he neared the goal line and then fumbled.
Callaway showed toughness in breaking an attempted tackle to run away from the defense, yet he clearly slows up a bit and didn't have the ball secured when a Texan neared him.
This happens more than it should in football, but hopefully, young players learn.
Callaway also caught a 71-yard touchdown that was called back due to a holding penalty on Greg Robinson.

7) The Browns defense was put in such a position because they could not stop the run.
Houston rushed for 187 yards, just under five yards a carry and 103 of those to Lamar Miller and the Browns were generally helpless against the Houston ground game.
Some of that might have been an in-game injury to Larry Ogunjobi, but that certainly wasn't all of the problems in stopping the run.

8) I wouldn't be too worried about Nick Chubb's 31-yard day.
With the Browns falling behind big early, the opportunities weren't there for him to ground and pound (nine carries) and Chubb did score a touchdown, so let's consider the circumstances for this game.

9) Denzel Ward left the game with a second-quarter concussion to further weaken an already battered secondary.
No word on Ward for next week of course, but it's an entirely different secondary without Ward.

10) One difference between these two teams and it's an indictment of past drafts is the speed aspect.
Houston was much faster from the top of the roster and especially matching their skill players against the Cleveland defense.
That will take another draft or two and I believe that will happen- take a look at the Chiefs that John Dorsey drafted to back that point up, but Cleveland is still at least another year away from catching up in depth at least.

11) The Browns are the team being talked about as being the possible team to claim Kareem Hunt after Hunt was released by Kansas City after a domestic violence video was released from last winter.
Cleveland is mentioned because John Dorsey drafted Hunt and Hunt is from the area.
Should the Browns decide to make that claim, they will be hit with backlash and rightfully so.
However, the Browns are in a unique position to give this a try, should they decide the player's talent is worth the public relations hit and here's why.
John Dorsey drafted him, Dorsey has a lot of goodwill built up in the area so far and should Dorsey decide to spend some of that on Hunt, that may reduce blowback in Northeast Ohio at least.
Hunt also is from the area and sometimes people are a little more forgiving with one of their own.
I'm not saying that the Browns would or even should claim Hunt, but they might be the one team that can make that the decision and have a little less heat for it.

12) Mike McCarthy was fired by the Packers after their loss at home to the lousy Cardinals and immediately became the talk of being the choice of the Browns.
Ryan (my Packer contact) has been complaining about McCarthy for years and frankly, I don't really want Baker Mayfield in a pure West Coast offense.
I'm not saying Mike McCarthy would be at the bottom of my list for Browns coaching candidates, but he sure isn't anywhere near the top.

13) I suppose the playoff talk is finished now and it should be.
Now the goal will be to win out and finish with a winning record, is that possible?
Yes. Likely? No.
I see the Browns going 2-2 at best.
I think next week's game against 6-6 Carolina at home to be a possible win, but not one to count on.
The inconsistent Panthers have played at both ends of the spectrum this season, but they have their own playoff situation to worry about.
Who knows which Panther team arrives, but the Browns have a chance.

I thought earlier this season that the Browns visit to Denver was a possible win, but the Broncos have caught their wind with three wins in a row (two of them over the Chargers and Steelers) and narrow losses to the Texans (by two) and the Chiefs (by seven) and are suddenly in contention.
All things considered, I'd say the Browns lose that one in Denver.

The Browns final home game is the one that I feel good about a victory in as they host the same Bengal team that they just dominated in Southern Ohio.
Considering that team lost their starting quarterback for the season, I think the Browns win that and end the home season right.

The wrapup in Baltimore may not go as well with the Ravens fighting for the playoffs and maybe John Harbaugh's job.
Combine that with the Ravens playing well and a revenge factor for their loss in Cleveland and
Baltimore should be favored, although the Browns could be in a position to ruin their season too.

Let's call it 5-10-1 or 6-9-1.

I'll try to make it back later with another post...

Only Misery for Browns deep in the Heart of Texas

Looking at the final score in the Cleveland Browns loss to the Houston Texans, the Browns defeat looks like just another one of many.
33-17 doesn't appear to be that awful as the Browns have been beaten worse by lesser teams than the Texans.
That would be wrong, as it took a pick-six by Jason McCourty and late garbage time score on a Kevin Hogan to Seth DeValve to salvage any type of decency in the deficit.

Considering the circumstances involved, fans of the team may look back at this as being the day that some or even all of the Sashi Brown, Hue Jackson, Paul DePodesta new wave thinking group were overcome by a wave of their own making.
More about this below, but for next week the now 0-6 Browns go back home against Jimmy Haslam's "real" favorite team- the Tennessee Titans.

Brownie Bits

1) I'll start with this- I was as down yesterday as I've ever been with football.
It wasn't that I was tired after work or my fantasy team sinking to all-time lows or even a Browns loss.
It was just depressing to think that this team is ruining pro football for me.
I pay for Sunday Ticket to watch the Browns, which makes me either a sucker or an idiot, but I digress, and I usually pick a 4;00 late game to watch.
Usually, this is some combination of the Rams, Chargers or Raiders because I like watching the games that few are watching, but not on this day.
I turned the channel and didn't look back.
I watched John Oliver on HBO (HBO is free here for a while), then I watched some CNN, my buddy Mike Oravec called as we talked baseball cards as I put cards away and watched some YouTube videos as some guy went looking for old coins with a metal detector in a creek somewhere.
And it was wonderful.
I had a GOOD time with the lovely Cherie, not a sickening one.
Could this be the beginning of the end with sports?
I doubt it, I love the analysis too much, but on this day- Cherie and Posey (Rachel was mostly upstairs) took a bad sports day off my mind and it was occupying enough to ride the wave to bed.

2) The Kevin Hogan experiment should be over after a one touchdown, three-interception performance that inept didn't define enough.
Hogan overthrew receivers and looked downright Seneca Wallaceesque as he hummed numerous (at least four, maybe more) footballs deep into the heart of the sideline.
His pick six to Jonathan Joseph was so bad that it would have been picked off by a high school player and Joseph laid the trap in wait that on TV, you had enough time to say "NO!!!'
I like Hogan, but he was overmatched on this day with this bunch.

3) That's not to place ALL of this on Hogan.
He was sacked four times and harassed all day.
The supposed line that was going to be one of the best in the game hasn't been anywhere near that.
Now, I'm not going to lay that at the feet of the talent evaluators.
Kevin Zeigler and J.T. Tretter were wanted by all teams and both have disappointed, especially Tretter up the middle.
I won't even dig deep for Shon Coleman, who gets worse by the week...

4) On to the opposing quarterback as DeShaun Watson did whatever he wanted other than the interception by Jason McCourty.
Watson showed just what the Browns were missing when they traded down with the Texans and allowed them to take Watson.
Full disclosure- I was not in favor of taking DeShaun Watson with the first pick in the draft, but I would have been more than fine with the Browns taking him at 12 and not trading down.
Watson's been great so far, but I'm willing to say that with the receivers in Cleveland, Watson would not be looking nearly as good.

5) Oh, those Browns receivers.
Kasen Williams led the team with four catches for a whopping 41 yards and no one else seemed to be open very often.
Playmakers? This just doesn't have them other than maybe Duke Johnson, who would be a situational running back on another team.

6) Speaking of the Duke, Johnson carried five times for forty yards and caught three passes for less than one yard.
If Johnson is the only playmaker on this team- eight touches simply are not enough for the Browns to be competitive.

7) Cleveland does look like they have such a playmaker on defense in top overall pick Myles Garrett.
Garrett had one sack of DeShaun Watson and his hit on Watson was the cause of the interception that Watson threw to Jason McCourty.
Garrett's three sacks in parts of just two games currently leads the Browns in sacks.

8) Myles Garrett is a quarterback attacking nightmare and along with the aging, Joe Thomas are the two elite talents on this team that can play on any team.
Garrett also is the only player that the Sashi bunch stayed in place to select.
Funny how that works out, isn't it?

9) And it's time for our weekly Jabrill Peppers bad angle and pursuit for a touchdown as Peppers missed his responsibility and was left in the dust by Will Fuller for a Texans score.
Six games is a small size on a player good or bad but off that sample- I was right on Peppers.

10) Kevin Hogan played badly, but Hue Jackson's lack of adjusting his offensive play calls to take the best advantage of Hogan's skills had its share of blame too.
I know Jackson loves those downfield throws, but that offense does not allow this offensive group to play to their strengths- isn't that part of coaching??

11) Finally, rumors are flying that the Browns are looking into someone to run personnel either with the current group or instead of.
All in favor- say aye  AYE!!!!!