Chargers short-circuit Browns 27-10

     The hope that Jameis Winston brought to Cleveland lasted for one week as the Los Angeles Chargers intercepted Winston three times and sacked him six more as the Chargers rolled to a 27-10 win in Cleveland.

Cedric Tillman caught six passes for seventy-five yards with an excellent catch late in the game for the Browns' only touchdown.

Cleveland is now 2-7 and will take next Sunday off.

Brownie Bits

1) The game ended for good in the third quarter when Jameis Winston led the Browns down the field and threw to the corner of the end zone to an open Jerry Jeudy when Tarheeb Still tipped the ball in the air to Elijah Molden for an interception.

I don't think that one can be held against Winston, as he threw the ball accurately and the defender just made a super play.

2) The Browns secondary had several breakdowns resulting in wide-open receivers and two Charger touchdowns.

Denzel Ward struggled in particular on those two touchdowns and it was clear on both scores that someone didn't take care of their responsibilities.

That someone appeared to be veteran safety Juan Thornhill, who has been a disappointment since arriving from Kansas City.

Twice in the same game and then people wonder why teams lose games.

3) Jameis Winston may have gotten a pass on the end zone interception but he doesn't on his other two interceptions and honestly, the Chargers should have gotten one or two more.

Last week, many Browns media members were chuckling it up as the "Jameis Winston experience".

They weren't wrong but it doesn't seem so funny now.

4) Myles Garrett collected three first-half sacks and hit Justin Herbert several other times.

It was one of those Garrett games that happen a few times a year and even good tackles are made to look average.

5) Cedric Tillman continues to develop and his catch in garbage time meant nothing in deciding the game but staying in bounds for the score showed the improvement in Tillman's game over the last month.

Tillman did drop a pass near the goal line on the play before the end zone

If there is any bright spot from the season, it is Cedric Tillman's development, and should he continue to progress, he could be the Browns offensive MVP at season's end.

6) The offensive line allowed six sacks, two and a half to Tuli Tuipulotu ( who had one entering the game) and two to Morgan Fox (who had 1.5 entering the game).

The Browns lost Dawand Jones during the game and Jedrick Wills replaced him.

That says it all.

7) During the game, the popular website Pro Football Talk was reporting that the Browns were close to trading defensive Za'Darius Smith to the Detroit Lions and the trade could be announced as soon as Monday.

Smith made one tackle in the game (for a loss) in what is expected to be his Browns swan song.

8) Comment of the day from analyst Adam Archuleta "The Browns defense has played well until other than those three plays".

Those three plays were touchdowns. Those pesky touchdowns.

9) Dustin Hopkins had a fifty-one-yard field goal attempt blocked by the Chargers and while it was blocked, it didn't take much effort as the kick never got above the blocker's chest.

The blocker merely needed to come forward, he never needed to raise his arm.

10) The Browns running game was almost non-existent, finishing with only seventy-nine yards for an average of 3.3 per rush.

Nick Chubb's thirty-nine yards led the team but the Browns lack of a running game led to the reliance on Jameis Winston and forty-six passes won't win many games. 

11) This season is over and the pipe dream ended after a week.

That's a good thing, now the real problem begins- how to rebuild and do you trust the guys that created the problems to rebuild?

Browns cut Cade York, Trade for Dustin Hopkins

   The Cleveland Browns under Andrew Berry have been noted for not giving up on players that they have drafted and giving them every possible chance to show that they can succeed as a  Cleveland Brown.

In some cases, one could argue that they have given too many chances to some players, and in the case of the player released today, I could argue both for the release and against it, and both would make plenty of sense.

The Browns decision to release Cade York only one year after drafting him in the fourth round from LSU may be one that will be debated for a long time and while the debate may depend on when and if York develops into the kicker that was expected by Cleveland to be in another uniform, it's one that could be very pivotal in the Browns 2023 and perhaps longer.

York entered the 2022 draft as the top-rated kicker in the draft and after an LSU career that saw him connect on fifty-six of sixty-six attempts with multiple successes from over fifty yards.

York's Cleveland career started on a high note when he nailed all four field goal tries in their opener in Carolina and won the game with a fifty-eight-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining to give the Browns a 26-24 win.

However, York missed an extra point with 1:22 remaining in the following week that cost the Browns a 31-30 loss when the Jets scored two touchdowns to pull out an amazing win.

Had York hit the extra point, the Browns would have forced the game into overtime rather than take the defeat.

York finished the season 24 of 32 on field goals and 35 of 37 extra points but when you consider that York hit his first eight field goals last season, he missed eight of his final twenty-four tries, which means he missed one of every three attempts. and three of those misses were under forty yards.

York wasn't challenged in training camp by anyone as the Browns seemed to be all-in with York and up until this past weekend, nothing seemed to change even with York missing from forty-six yards against Washington and missing twice on game-winning field goal attempts against Philadelphia, when York missed from forty-seven but received a second chance from forty-two after the Eagles were flagged with a penalty, only to miss again.

The rumors around York's future only started to rise after the final preseason game in Kansas City when York missed an extra point (it was taken down by a Chiefs penalty) and had a forty-three-yard field goal that would have won the game blocked with under a minute to play.

Kevin Stefanski's post-game comments about York seemed to waver and for the first time, it appeared that the Browns were considering replacing York.

Cleveland then traded a 2025 seventh-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for veteran kicker Dustin Hopkins to fill the kicking vacancy.

The soon to be thirty-three year old Hopkins was good on nine of ten attempts for the Chargers last season, including a memorable Monday night game against Denver, when Hopkins was four for four on field goals despite injuring his hamstring during the game, including the game-winning field goal in overtime.

The hamstring injury ended Hopkins's season and he would duel for the job with his replacement in 2022, Cameron Dicker, in training camp but missed time in camp due to injury.

Hopkins signed with the Chargers in the middle of the 2021 season after spending his first six and a half seasons with Washington and was 18 of 20 on the season.

Here are my issues with the trade.

Dustin Hopkins is very reliable ( 84.8 career field goal percentage) and a seventh-rounder isn't much to pay for what the Browns hope will be a steady kicker but he is 33 and his missing time in training camp after his shortened 2021 is mildly concerning.

The Browns must sign a second kicker for the practice squad in case Hopkins's injury problems become chronic and should Cade York clear waivers (and I'm not sure that he will), I would like to see the Browns keep York, although he may not be interested in that path.

And while seventh-round draft picks aren't incredibly valuable, giving one away for a veteran kicker when other solid veterans such as Mason Crosby and Robbie Gould are available for free seems a bit strange.

However, Hopkins is under contract through 2024 so the Browns likely thought the extra contract year from Hopkins was worth the cost, or perhaps Gould and/or Crosby weren't interested or may have been asking for more than the Browns were willing to pay.

The biggest question is how well does Cade York perform with whatever team signs him in the future?

The horror story of the Vikings drafting Daniel Carlson and cutting him after a few struggles, only to have the Raiders scoop him up and see Carlson develop into one of the top kickers in football has to be concerning to the Browns front office and their fans.

Should Cade York live up to his potential, it would be the latest in the personnel blunders by the Cleveland Browns but under the circumstances, with the Browns in a win big or else season looming, I can understand why the Browns felt that they had to make this decision before it could cost you a game.

When you look at the schedule with the Browns playing the other three AFC North teams in the first four weeks of the season, Cleveland can't give away winnable games because they gambled on Cade York's potential.

I'm not saying I love cutting York and I'm not saying I hate it.

The Browns decided a solid and dependable kicker for two seasons outweighed the risk of a potential long-term standout that could cost them games in the immediate future.

I can't blame them for that thinking- but it might be a move that a future administration might regret as they could be the next unit to try to turn this franchise around if things don't fall into place.

Browns lose late to Chargers

    Apologies again for the late recap on this due to struggles with televisions etc. over the weekend.

The Cleveland Browns were given a golden gift by Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley and the gift led to an opportunity for a last-second win over the Chargers but Cade York's fifty-four-yard field goal attempt drifted wide right and Los Angeles rode the plane out of Cleveland with a 30-28 win.

Jacoby Brissett threw a touchdown and 230 yards but made the most significant error of the game when he threw an end zone interception to the Charger Alohi Gillman late in the game with Cleveland down by the two points they would lose by.

Nick Chubb rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns while Amari Cooper caught seven passes and the only Browns passing score.

Cleveland drops to 2-3 with the defeat and will host New England next Sunday.

Brownie Bits

1) We start with the absolute bonehead decision that only Cade York's miss took off the front pages by Chargers coach Brandon Staley.

With a fourth down and one on the Charger 46 with 1:14 remaining and the Browns have used their final timeout, rather than punt the ball and make the Browns drive the field without timeouts, Staley goes for it and Cleveland stops them, and with few yards gained would give Cade York the chance to win it.

2) I watch more Chargers football than any team other than the Browns and this is your typical Brandon Staley call.

And Cleveland fans think they have it bad with Kevin Stefanski?

Try watching game after game with Brandon Staley.

3) Jacoby Brissett has been brutalized for his late-game interception in the end zone and that's fair since the worst-case scenario would have Brissett running for a few yards or throwing the ball away to set up a field goal attempt to take the lead, if successful.

However, there was something almost as impactful later in the game that few are mentioning that you can blame Brissett and/or Kevin Stefanski.

4) After the Browns took over at the Los Angeles 46-yard line, Brissett threw an incomplete pass before hitting Amari Cooper for a ten-yard gain and a first down.

With the clock rolling after Cooper's catch and down to forty-seven seconds, the Browns called a running play with Kareem Hunt, who was stopped for no gain and the Browns lost literally half of the remaining time before they could run their next play, a long incomplete pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones.

After another incomplete pass to Peoples-Jones, Cleveland was forced to take their chances with Cade York without gaining an inch.

I hated the running play call by Kevin Stefanski but had he called a sweep or something to the outside perhaps Hunt could have gotten out of bounds and saved some clock.

5) Anything could have helped York and if you watch the field goal, it started drifting wide late in the kick, not right off the foot, so it is possible that a few extra yards gained may have been the difference in going through the uprights.

And no, I'm not ready to cut Cade York.

Every rookie kicker deals with adversity and Cleveland is a tough place to kick, so I'm willing to be patient with York and give him the entire season.

If his performance is erratic all year, bring a veteran in to challenge him in camp next summer and not before then.

6) And then the rushing defense which allowed Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley to run for more yardage in one game than either had accumulated in their four.

There are plenty of culprits here but the gold medal goes to Andrew Berry, who seems to take pride in not spending capital on defensive tackles and linebackers.

Berry didn't really address either position other than the signing of Taven Bryan and drafting Perrion Winfrey at defensive tackle and the run defense has paid the price for ignoring those positions.

7) The damage done to the Browns? 238 yards and a team average of seven yards a carry.

Giving away chunks of yardage against runners that haven't set the world on fire and considering that Justin Herbert isn't totally healthy with injured ribs and Keenan Allen missing at WR, allowing the Chargers to run with little resistance kept the Chargers closer than they could have been otherwise.

8) Yesterday's post covered the Browns acquiring Deion Jones to help at linebacker won't hurt any but I'll wait to see if the Browns have added a linebacker to make plays or another stat accumulator that makes tackles ten yards down the field.

I've been hoping for Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to become the impact player that the Browns have lacked for years and he has shown occasional glimpses of having the ability to do that but not consistently yet.

9) And while I like Anthony Walker as a player and his absence hasn't helped the defense, Walker is merely a solid linebacker, not a lot different than several Browns linebackers through the years.

Browns commentators that are placing a large amount of credit for the Chargers' big day on the ground because of Anthony Walker not being available are giving Walker far much credit.

10) The pass defense may have its issues but give Greg Newsome credit for hustle as Newsome raced from across the field to run down Austin Ekeler on his seventy-one-yard run.

Cleveland would then hold the Chargers to a field goal on the drive and it is all due to Newsome not giving up on a play that wasn't in his area to start with.

11) John Johnson was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter for taking his helmet off while protesting a missed call (a blindside block on Jacob Phillips) and handed the Chargers ten free yards, placed the ball at the Cleveland ten, and resulted in a Charger touchdown.

I've been disappointed in Johnson's play since signing as a heralded free agent in 2021 and Kevin Stefanski told him that "you can't do things like that and play for the Browns".

Sounds good but I've seen a lot of Browns play like that and stay around.

12) As bad as things seem, the AFC North is still in play with Baltimore leading at 3-2, Cincinnati with the Browns at 2-3, and a suddenly imploding Pittsburgh at 1-4.

I'm not saying that the Browns are likely to turn things around over the next six games but it is not out of the question since no one in the division has been able to run away and build a big lead.

New England may be down to their third-string quarterback but they will run the ball effectively and after watching the tape of this loss to Los Angeles, the Patriots will test the resolve of Joe Woods and the ability to change the momentum for the defense next week.

Browns one bullet short in 47-42 Chargers shootout

     The Cleveland Browns looked dead into the eye of the Los Angeles Chargers and matched them blow for blow until the final minute and a half.

Then the Browns discovered the difference between a howitzer and a pistol as with ninety seconds to go, Baker Mayfield was unable to move the ball downfield and the Browns fell short in Los Angeles 47-42 at the upside-down frying pan in Los Angeles.

Baker Mayfield threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns with Nick Chubb rushing for 161 yards and a touchdown with help from Kareem Hunt with 61 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The Browns fall to 3-2 with the defeat and return to the banks of Lake Erie next Sunday to meet the only remaining undefeated team in the league in the Arizona Cardinals. 

Brownie Bits

1)  Yes, Baker Mayfield did step up his game with a good effort, and with the announcement earlier in the week of a partially torn labrum in his shoulder, it's understandable that Mayfield is going to have problems throwing the ball more than ten yards downfield.

2) Mayfield's numbers were and are good for the game but all of his big plays were catch and runs.

I know that shouldn't matter when you are scoring points but when you need to drive the field with 90 seconds and no timeouts, you need to get yardage in large sizes.

Mayfield cannot seem to do that and hence why the Browns have such a rotten record in these situations.

3) The defense that had looked so stout in Minnesota was not so in Los Angeles as Justin Herbert, a quarterback that can throw deep and accurately threw four touchdowns and just under 400 yards against a Browns defense is becoming very shorthanded at the cornerback position.

4) Considering the importance of cornerback depth, I was surprised that Cleveland didn't get involved in trading for Pro Bowl corner Stephon Gilmore from New England.

Gilmore does carry a high price tag and is a free agent at the end of the year but he only cost the team that traded for him (Carolina) a sixth-round pick.

I'd think for that, the Browns should have made a run at Gilmore.

5) David Njoku hasn't always been what the Browns had hoped for when they used a first-round pick on him five years ago but his seven-catch, 149 yards, and a 71-yard score on a catch and run showed how tantalizing his potential can be.

Njoku's physical tools allow him to run over or away from defenders and should Njoku play at the level that he did against the Chargers, he will make a lot of money in the off-season either from the Browns or someone else in free agency.

6) Now about the ill-fated third and lone draw play to Kareem Hunt on the next to last drive that forced a Browns punt and resulted in the game-winning touchdown drive by the Chargers.

It didn't make a lot of sense to me and Kevin Stefanski admitted so after the game.

If you get the first down on this play, the game is likely over and if you are stopped the Chargers will stop the clock anyway, so such a conservative call for the normally aggressive Stefanski is once again surprisingly close to the vest.

7) The Browns did get hosed on a late pass interference call when Mike Willians grabbed A.J.Green on a fourth-down pass play that somehow was called on Green.

The ball should have been turned over to Cleveland rather than the Chargers continuing to drive.

A truly awful call.

8) Nick Chubb was his typical hard running self as he slashed through the Chargers for 161 yards including a 52 yarder for a touchdown.

9) Give both teams credit for smart play near the end of the game.

The Chargers Austin Ekeler slid down deep in Cleveland territory rather than score to give the Browns more time to win in the waning seconds of the game.

And then the Browns defense took Ekeler on a running play that was designed not to score then threw him into the end zone for a touchdown.

That play gave the Browns a chance to win rather than the Chargers running the clock down for a walk-off field goal attempt.

10) Jamie Gillan has taken a large step backward as the Browns punter and he had two awful punts in the loss.

Gillan is 28th in the league in punting and has at least one really bad punt in each of the first five games.

11) The Browns fall to 3-2, splitting their two road games and the Cardinals next in Cleveland.

The secondary is losing depth with Greg Newsome already out and Denzel Ward getting injured against the Chargers and the Cardinals will throw the ball around as the Chargers did.

It will be outside rather than the dome that Arizona usually plays in and grass always slows speed.

But the beaten-up Browns secondary will have many Cardinals receivers to cover and I expect another high-scoring game.

This time, I think the Browns have enough to win a close game.

Browns Bubble Burst by Bolts 38-14

The bubble that was the Cleveland Browns did indeed burst against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers, who did anything that they chose in a 38-14 thrashing by the banks of Lake Erie.
Baker Mayfield threw for 238 yards and one touchdown but threw two interceptions in a game that saw the rookie look the way most rookies can at times.
David Njoku led the Browns receivers with seven catches and the only Cleveland touchdown.
The now 2-3-1 Browns travel to Tampa next week in what could be a very fun game to watch against a 2-3 Buccaneers team that has allowed 30 or more points in four of their five games.

Brownie Bits

1) Baker Mayfield returned to Earth in the loss as the Chargers took away his passing lanes and limited his ability to move around the pocket.
Notice that I didn't use the word "Exposed" as that would mean teams would have a concrete way of stopping Mayfield, but the problems that helped me grade him lower than other QB"s arrived on this day- trouble seeing through a dirty passing lane, can he avoid athletic blitzers (The Chargers had success sending corner Desmond King and safety Derwin James), how quickly does he figure out illusions in coverage and how long does it take to get rid of the football.

2) Note that I'm not saying that makes him a failure either. Baker has been able to get the ball out faster in the previous starts than against the Chargers and some of that has to with his lack of targets (more later) and others on what the Chargers did against him.
This game is one of adjustments, the more film that is available on Baker, there will be things that opponents try and he'll have to be able to change accordingly.
The players that have initial success and then fade away are the players that aren't able to do that.
That is what is interesting about watching the maturation of a young quarterback.

3) Jarvis Landry isn't a number one receiver.
That's not a knock. He's a hell of a number two receiver, but he's not a number one.
If the Browns are able to find themselves a number one in the next season or so, we'll all see just how good Jarvis Landry is, but when covered by top corners that are able to push and shove him around because they don't have to worry about him running by them.
In the defeat, Landry saw nine passes tossed his way and he finished with two catches for just eleven yards.

4) Baker Mayfield's line didn't do him any favors either.
The aforementioned passing lanes weren't cleared and Mayfield had little time to throw.
Perhaps the rookie didn't get the ball out as quickly as in his previous three games, but the Chargers sacked Mayfield five times and none of them were by their best rusher in the absence of Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram.
Desmond Harrison struggled for the first time since the Steelers game and the offensive line is going to have to do better.

5) For as poorly as Baker Mayfield played, it wasn't all on him and his numbers should have looked far better as both Antonio Callaway and Damion Ratley dropped very catchable passes in the end zone.
Would the Browns still have lost? Of course, but three touchdowns and two picks on a bad day certainly would have looked better in reviewing the game for Mayfield.

6) Personally, I don't know why the Chargers even bothered to throw the ball at all.
The game hadn't even reached the second quarter yet and I'm noting "Melvin Gordon does whatever he wants, gouging for huge chunks of yardage, UGH".
Gordon would finish with 132 yards on 18 carries with three scores.

7) It wasn't just Gordon, the rest of the Chargers added 118 yards on 18 more carries.
Two points here- first, this is where offensive coordinators get too cute (the Chargers bungled a trick play for a large loss early) and don't catch on that they are bullying the opponent to do what they wish.
Second- I think Keith Lincoln could have entered into this game and rushed for fifty yards.
Keith Lincoln was a Charger great that retired in 1968.

8) The one play that you could circle and say this isn't our day-The 45-yard touchdown pass from Phillip Rivers to Tyrell Williams that dropped through three Browns for the score.
When three guys are on one and the ball is caught without a tip or a fluky bounce- it's usually not your day.

9) And then consider the second Rivers to Williams score from 29 yards away.
Tackle Russell Okung not only moves for a false start, HE STOOD UP, which screams FALSE START!
All the Browns stop and most visibly Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi stand there as the flags stay in EVERY referee's pocket and Rivers just drops back and hits Williams for the score.
The Browns didn't lose because of that call, but boy you are starting to think that someone really hates the Browns or someone on the coaching staff.
Supposedly, Hue Jackson got an apology for that when the game went to commercial.
Big Whoop.

10) On top of that, another wideout injury after losing Rashard Higgins in the win over Baltimore and Derreck Willes on Friday to a broken collarbone, it's Rod Streater that is lost on special teams in the first quarter.
Editor's Note: Streater was announced Monday to be lost for the season.
That meant that only Jarvis Landry and rookies Antonio Callaway and Damion Ratley were available wide receivers for the rest of the game.
I'm not excusing the drops and miscues, but with only those guys available, it had to limit the formations and even play calling.

11) Before the game (and of course, they couldn't use him because he had not even practiced) the Browns signed former Baltimore first-round pick Breshad Perriman to help with the wideout depth.
Now, the Browns will have to sign another receiver in the next day or two as well.
Perriman missed his rookie season in 2015 but had an intriguing 2016 with 33 catches for 499 yards and three scores.
Perriman caught just ten passes last year in eleven games before the Ravens released him in their final cut.
Washington would sign him but only kept him for four days.
I have no idea what Perriman will bring to Cleveland, but at 25 years old and considering the "free" talent, I'm interested.
Perriman's dad is former Saint WR Brett Perriman, a noted Tecmo Bowl legend.

12) Joe Schobert left the game with a hamstring injury and no word on his status for Tampa Bay.
The Browns linebackers aren't a particularly deep bunch as it is and backup James Burgess also left the game with an injury as well.

13) Ok- teams in various stages of growth will throw a shoe every now and then.
It hurts that it was a home game and even though I bought into things a little too much and picked the Browns, the Chargers are a better football team (they'd look even better in the AFL powder blue uniforms) and in hindsight should have been the favorite.
That's over and now it's a trip to Tampa Bay for a huge game.
Why huge at 2-3-1?
Tampa Bay has played five games and allowed 30 points or more in four of them with the one that didn't reach 30, it was close at 27.
Tampa Bay stops no one.
However, they score a lot and if you take away their version of yesterday ( a 48-10 loss at Chicago) they have scored 48,29 and 27 twice, so they will score points.
The Browns will need this one because they will be underdogs at Pittsburgh and home against the Chiefs, so a loss to Tampa Bay could see the Browns quickly at 2-6-1 before hosting Atlanta, a score a lot/allow a lot team before the bye.
So there is a scenario that sees the wheels flying off at 2-7-1 entering the bye and that could mean goodbye to Hue Jackson.
This next one is a big one, bigger than some will imagine and it could decide just where this season goes.

Lightning doesn't strike twice-Chargers beat Browns 19-10

Photo Credit:Cleveland Plain Dealer

Lightning didn't strike twice as the only team that the 2016 Cleveland Browns defeated made sure that they weren't the 2017 victim as the Los Angeles (Nee' San Diego) Chargers struggled to a 19-10 win over the Cleveland Browns in Carson, California.
DeShone Kizer hit David Njoku with a 28 yard pass two minutes before the end of the first half for the only Browns touchdown that gave the Browns the lead for most of those two minutes before former Brown Travis Coons gave the Chargers a 9-7 halftime lead with a 22 yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
The now 0-12 Browns host Green Bay next Sunday in the Packers final game with Brett Hundley at quarterback before the return of Aaron Rodgers.

Brownie Bits

1) The return of Josh Gordon was somewhat of a mixed success.
Gordon did not miss a beat with his speed and athleticism and he looked really good with four catches for eighty yards with one sure to be touchdown overthrown by DeShone Kizer.
All and all, a excellent first game back.

2) Considering all of that, I thought either the play calling or DeShone Kizer locked in too much on Gordon (eleven targets) much like Brian Hoyer did during the last Gordon return.
I get that he is a number one receiver, but the Browns still need to move the ball around and not lock on Gordon.

3) There may be one more question to wonder about is it possible that the Browns could try to feature Gordon as much as possible in order to build his possible trade value?
That may be reading far too much into this, but I would not be surprised that should Sashi Brown be retained that Gordon might be moved for draft picks considering his past and ability.

4) I thought the Browns would be able to run the football against the worst run defense in the league and they did-by average four yards a carry.
The bad news is they only ran the ball 22 times and every time the Browns had some rhythm, they started throwing again.

Photo Credit:Cleveland Plain Dealer

It would be interesting to see what would happen if the Browns would try to run the ball and now with an elite pass catcher like Josh Gordon to open up the field what would happen with four games to go.

5) The play of the game as the Browns were driving down 19-10 on the Charger 15 with a third down,
DeShone Kizer gets stripped by Joey Bosa, fumbles-ball game.
I know I've drummed the Browns don't take Ohio State players in the draft, but this is yet another one that bites them.
I'm a big Joey Bosa fan and love the pass rush and high motor that he brings to the field and I understand the Browns not taking him after the trade down in the 2016 draft, but he's the type of disruptive presence that the Browns hope to get from Myles Garrett.

6) David Njoku finished with the Browns only touchdown and caught five passes for 74 yards.
Njoku down the seam might be the biggest beneficiary of Josh Gordon.
Njoku was drafted as a raw talent and has been erratic in his rookie season, but on occasion, you can see the athletic ability that might make him an impact tight end in this league.

7) Corey Coleman was supposed to thrive as the number two receiver with the arrival of Josh Gordon.
Instead, he disappeared as he didn't catch a pass of his four targets and disappeared from the offense with nary a whimper.

8) The defense bent but seldom broke as they only allowed one touchdown out of six Charger drives inside the Cleveland 20.
Keep in mind that this was a Charger team that scored 54 two weeks ago against Buffalo and 28 on Thanksgiving against Dallas, so this wasn't playing the 49ers.
Good all-around game for the defense.

9) The star was Joe Schobert, who finished with seven solo tackles, a forced fumble, a sack and two tackles for loss.
Schobert is rolling up big numbers for you fantasy IDP players out there and reminds me a lot of Zach Thomas, an old school tackling middle linebacker that can play in passing situations as well.

10) DeShone Kizer is running out of excuses for his problems hitting his receivers.
The accuracy problems continued with even more weapons than he has had all season.
It is the problems with accuracy that has haunted Browns quarterbacks for years and it doesn't look like Kizer is going to be the player that solves that issue.

11) The other player on the Charger defense that played well?
Desmond King, a rookie corner from Iowa that made six tackles, had a sack of Kizer among three hits of him, two tackles for loss and made plays on special teams as a kick returner with a 44 yard returner.
Longtime readers may remember how high I was on King coming out of Iowa and King was a Charger pick in round five!
The player the Browns picked ahead of King hasn't played all season due to injury (Howard Wilson of Houston, whom I also liked), so the jury is still out on that player, but King looks like another missed Brown draft pick.

12) The Chargers wore the royal blue uniforms from the Dan Fouts era, which looked OK, but they wore blue pants with them rather than the gold pants used back then.
The gold would have added a better look, I think, but no matter what they used, they wouldn't have been as good looking as the classic 60's powder blue, which is almost universally loved and the hard-headed Chargers refuse to use full time.

Remaining games in the chase to a win
Green Bay 6-6
Baltimore 7-5
at Chicago 3-9
at Pittsburgh 9-2 (plays tonight)

Cleaning out the inbox-Sports version

Cleaning out the inbox from the sports world this time and we have plenty to offer.

Starting with a suspected arson in Detroit where the famous Kronk Gym burned down.
Home of the Kronk Boxing team which was so dominant in the 80's and 90's, the original building which was built in the 1920's was where numerous world champions were developed by trainer Emanuel Steward, including the three in the poster to the left in Thomas Hearns, Milton McCrory and Jimmy Paul.

John Lepak writes a tremendous article on UCN about Kronk, the building, the fighters and what it was like to train there.
It is one of my favorite articles that I have read this year-Great work by Lepak.

The San Antonio Current writes an oral history of the USFL's San Antonio Gunslingers.
Lots of good USFL stories about shyster owner Clinton Manges, the team's money problems and how the team shoved the required amount of seats into old Alamo stadium that needed more to meet a league rule...

Battlin' Bob listed this Deadspin article on Facebook of the story of pro wrestler Nobuhiko Takada and his attempts at real fighting in MMA.
Takada was a wrestler that wasn't talented at either shoot wrestling or martial arts or anything in between, but he managed to fool people into thinking he was the toughest man in the world (If you lived in Japan maybe).
That lasted until the first time he faced any competition and was easy pickings for Rickson Gracie, who was regarded as the best of the famous Gracie family of fighters.
The story is quite interesting, even if you are only a fan of either wrestling or MMA from the early days of the MMA phenomenon in the early to mid 1990's...

Eric Williams writes for ESPN about the "Los Angeles" Chargers needing to catch up to the Rams in the battle for Los Angeles and believes changing full time to the much-loved powder blue uniforms would be a great idea.
I agree as the uniforms are terrific to see and might make Los Angeles buy in as the Chargers change their look to the past (not an awful future like the Browns did) and at the same time the market feels like the Chargers being in town truly becomes their team...

Buckeye Hero traded to West Coast

Photo Courtesy:Tommy Gilligan-USA Today

A Buckeye hero from the past was traded today and at a cost that was so reasonable that I wish the Cleveland Browns would have bought in at that price.

Cardale Jones,the star of the surprising Ohio State 2014 National Championship run, was traded from the Buffalo Bills to the Los Angeles (Lots of getting used to the name there) Chargers for a conditional seventh round draft choice.
No idea what the conditions are,but usually it's either if the player makes the opening game roster,plays in a certain amount of games or finishes the season on the roster.

Jones was the fourth round pick of the Bills in the 2016 draft and played one game for Buffalo last season as a rookie,throwing an interception as his only "big play" stat.
Buffalo drafted Pittsburgh's Nathan Peterman in the 2017 draft and signed veteran T.J.Yates as a free agent to backup Tyrod Taylor,so Jones looked to have a tough time making the team under new head coach Sean McDermott.
San Diego,however,looks to have a need behind Phillip Rivers and long time journeyman backup Kellen Clemons with their new coach Anthony Lynn being on the Buffalo staff that drafted Jones,I would bet on Jones making the team.

At that price,I wish the Browns would have taken a shot at Jones.
I know the Browns are allergic to Ohio State players and Jones is a bit raw,but physically I never understood why the Browns passed on Jones in the 2016 draft over the less talented Cody Kessler with the upside that Jones possesses.
The only logical reason that I can see for the Browns not to bite at a Jones trade is the physical similarities and lack of polish to their rookie DeShone Kizer-big arm,tall in the pocket,needing reps etc that the Browns may have figured that the training camp snaps weren't going to be there for both of them,especially since the Browns are unlikely to cut Kizer or Kessler and only a slim chance of cutting Brock Osweiler.

For the Los Angeles Chargers,a team that is beginning to collect Buckeyes in the last two seasons with Joey Bosa,Joshua Perry and now Jones,they'll be an interesting team for me to keep an eye on since I'm always looking for a team to watch from the West Coast.
It makes sense for the Chargers to give Jones a try at a bargain price with a lack of young quarterbacks on the team and with a coaching staff that knows him,I think Jones makes the team and maybe even sees some mop up work behind the king of garbage time fantasy points-Phillip Rivers.

As for Cardale Jones,he may never get an opportunity to be a starting quarterback in the NFL,but I wager he'll have a really good chance to earn an NFL pension and he has one thing going for him that no matter how his NFL career goes-that three game run that brought Ohio State a national championship and he'll likely have no problems finding people in the state of Ohio willing to pick up a dinner check!

California Scheming

I know all about the feeling that football fans in Southern California (Far Southern California that is) have today.
They feel betrayed and I've been there with the Browns,so I know how they feel,but this is an unusually special money grab.

The National Football League is well known for taking any dollar that they can grab and for almost any reason and this extends to their franchises.
Their lack of caring and concern extends from Cleveland having the Browns ripped away despite sellouts to be given to Baltimore,who wouldn't have needed a team at all,had the NFL not punched them in the face twice with the Colts moving to Indianapolis and Paul Tagliabue  picking Jacksonville (great call,by the way) over Baltimore in 1990's expansion,so that his beloved Washington D.C could remain the only team in a market that would never accept the Redskins in the Baltimore portion to allowing teams to return to towns for twenty year checks,only to allow those cities (St.Louis and Oakland) to be held up later for more opulent stadiums.
Cities that deal with the NFL do so at their own peril and more than likely,accommodating them is a 10 to 15 year time-share in keeping them happy.
Being fair,baseball is no different as 20ish year old parks in Arlington and Atlanta are being replaced as obsolete,so the NFL isn't alone,but they seem to have a unique place as they almost always (emphasis on both words) go for the money.

San Diego isn't blameless as despite some attempts to finance a new stadium,they have not been able to get a deal finished.
Qualcomm Stadium is 50 years old and I can see the points for a new facility,although sometimes a nice renovation can go a long way (Arrowhead in Kansas City for example) towards revitalization,I agree with the Chargers needing to catch up with the times.
Here are my problems with this.

The city of San Diego has made a decision that the Chargers/NFL is not of the same value to their community as the financial commitment would take to keep them there.
Many people in the sports world are applauding San Diego for not doing so (I saw Rachel Nichols doing so on Twitter to name one person) and if that's how they feel,good for them.
Usually,that doesn't last for long with pro sports (I know the feeling with the Hagerstown Suns),people discover what they have lost and the arduous task of returning pro sports to their town begins.
That's a long road that even if successful,the community winds up spending just as much,if not more to return sports to the area than they would have spent to begin with to keep the team.
Not to mention the moral dilemma that so many have to deal with-stealing because you were stolen from.
I'd have much more respect for San Diego,if they simply said that the NFL has simply gotten too expensive for their city and are moving in different directions.

As for the Chargers,they are a laughing stock after this move.
Not even the Los Angeles media seem interested in the Chargers,they'll be entering a market with two baseball teams (Dodgers and Angels),one other pro football team (Rams),two basketball teams (Lakers and Clippers),two hockey teams (Kings and Ducks) and two major college programs (UCLA and USC) that are powerhouses in football (USC) and basketball (UCLA) to contend with for attention.
They'll be playing in a 30,000 seat stadium for two years until the stadium built for the Rams (and now Chargers) will be ready and have released a logo that basically is a knockoff of the Dodgers that has brought guffaws from all over social media.
Add to that,the Southern California sports fan that notoriously often times is only interested in winning teams and terrific weather that allows year around activity and the Chargers are going to have a very difficult time with a 5-11 team and an aging quarterback (Phillip Rivers) cementing itself in that local sports scene.
The Chargers have long ago being shown to be a franchise that doesn't worry about its fans and customers.
From refusing to give the fans what they want (the powder blue uniforms) to firing the most successful coach in its history (Marty Schottenheimer) to keep around a general manager who sent the franchise to its current spiral,the Chargers have usually succeeded by accident and more often failed by a stubbornness by the Spanos family to listen to its fan base or to anyone that had successful in football.

I see no winner in this fiasco.
The Chargers are going to be shoved into a market that could care less,San Diego loses professional football with the money that brings in,the NFL continues to look like a company that would put a team in Minot, North Dakota,if they'd build them stadium,the Spanos family joins the list of owners that moved a team out of town despite fan support and the fans in San Diego,who can look to Baltimore as an example of having to steal a team for a return to the league,as the NFL will look at San Diego as being close enough to Los Angeles to not be a must have return...

Sad thing to see yet another city lose its team,but in the end.sports are only a game to their fans-to everyone else,it is always a business and in business-money is always the bottom line....