Pats pound Browns, Garrett has five sacks

     Myles Garrett sacked New England's Drake Maye five times for a franchise record, but the Patriots scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to lead New England to a 32-13 win in Foxboro.

Dillon Gabriel threw two touchdowns with two interceptions and a total of 156 passing yards.

The Browns slip to 2-6 with the defeat and will have a week off before traveling to New York to meet the 1-7 Jets.

Brownie Bits

1) Myles Garrett was dominant in this game, sacking Drake Maye five times.

New England had no answer for Garrett, who also forced a fumble, and was the only thing that made the Browns worth watching in this game.

2) I've heard (and read) several notes about how bad some feel about Myles Garrett wasting his career in Cleveland.

Don't.

Garrett had his chance in the off-season when he demanded a trade, and he made the decision to take a new contract, which made him the league's highest-paid defender at the time.

I don't blame Garrett. I might have made the same decision in his situation, but he's been here and he knows how this organization is run.

He's well compensated and was well-informed before making his decision.

3) The defense (other than Garrett) was erratic in the defeat.

Three times, New England moved the ball down the field in the first half, and the defense stiffened to hold the Patriots to field goals, which gave New England a 9-7 lead at the half.

4) The same couldn't be said in the third quarter, with the Patriots scoring touchdowns on all three possessions to put the game away.

I mean, there was plenty of time available, but when you have the Browns offense, there was no chance for a comeback.

5) Quinshon Judkins was once again keyed on by the defense (Get used to that Quinshon)  and finished with only nineteen yards on nine carries before leaving the game with an injury.

6) The leading rusher?

Malachi Corley, who took a jet sweep pitch thirty-one yards.

When a wide receiver with one carry is your team's leading rusher? Oh Boy.

7) The Browns completed two passes to wide receivers.

Yes, Two, both to Jamari Thrash.

8) Dillon Gabriel did throw one pass longer than six yards, a long pass intended for Isaiah Bond, but it was instead grabbed by New England's Jaylinn Hawkins.

I can live with interceptions like that; they are basically the same as a punt as far as field position goes, but the ball was badly thrown.

9) That was the only pass more than a few yards beyond the line because, well, you know, but defenses are having no problems dealing with a passing game that uses the bubble screen like a long bomb.

10) The Browns tried a flea-flicker,

But New England read that so fast that Gabriel didn't have time to even look for a receiver as he threw the ball down like a kid playing the old game "Time Bomb".

11) Kevin Stefanski stated after the game that things were going to change (I have no idea how in the hell that's supposed to happen), but he was sticking with Dillon Gabriel for the game against the Jets in two weeks.

I don't have a clue what there is to change at this stage of the season that could help other than Shedeur Sanders or Bailey Zappe coming in at quarterback (and I don't think that helps anyway), but it only brings attention to the fact that nothing can be done when Stefanski keeps talking about changes.

12) It wouldn't be a post without a Jerry Jeudy complaint.

Jeudy finished without a catch, which is very helpful for a player making millions to be your number one receiver, but he was only thrown to twice.

In the fourth quarter, the Browns went for it in the red zone with Dillon Gabriel throwing incomplete to Jeudy.

Watching the live action, it appeared that the Patriot defender made a nice play. However, upon reviewing the replay, the ball goes through Jeudy's arms, and it looks like Jeudy made an effort that I'd say was lackluster, if I'm being generous.

13) The Browns received more bad news when rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger left the game with a high-level ankle sprain.

Schwesinger grabbed his first career interception earlier in the game and has played very well in his rookie season.

Schwesinger could miss four to six weeks, and with the team lacking depth at linebacker, his loss will be felt.

Browns trade for Pierre Strong

   As the Tuesday deadline for NFL teams approaches, the Cleveland Browns made a minor trade to help their running back corps and did it without moving any future draft picks.

Cleveland traded reserve tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr. to the New England Patriots for running back Pierre Strong in an attempt to add some depth at the position and I'm guessing that Andrew Berry was concerned that another team could claim Strong, should New England release him.

New England picked Strong in the fourth round of the 2023 draft from South Dakota State, where he rushed for over 1,000 twice and over seven hundred yards in the Covid-shortened 2020 season for the Jackrabbits.

Strong carried the ball only ten times as a Patriot rookie, finishing with an even one hundred yards and a touchdown, and was active for fifteen games.

Strong also caught seven passes for forty-two yards and is reported to be a positive in the passing game from the backfield, so that's another bonus as the number two back Jerome Ford is still not one hundred percent from a preseason injury.

Strong finished with fifty-two yards on fourteen carries during the pre-season and appeared to be the odd man out among a group of younger backs behind Rhamondre Stevenson after New England signed Ezekiel Elliott as a free agent.

Strong looks to be fighting Demetric Felton and John Kelly for the third running back spot behind Nick Chubb and Jerome Ford, and seems to have the edge if only because the Browns just traded for him and had to have felt they needed an upgrade over Felton or Kelly.

Wheatley has never played in an NFL game, having spent time with the Bears and Browns practice squads and a training camp with the Raiders, since entering the league in 2021 as an undrafted free agent.

Wheatley is somewhat new to the tackle position, having played his entire college career as a tight end at Michigan and Stony Brook.

Wheatley reportedly impressed the Browns in camp and they were rumored to have concerns that Wheatley would be claimed by someone before he would clear waivers and would not be able to be signed to the Browns practice squad.

Both teams needed help at the positions involved, Cleveland wasn't deep at running back, New England suffered some injuries along the offensive line, and neither player was likely to clear waivers after the Tuesday cuts, so it made sense for both teams to help the other.

It's more likely than not that this trade turns out to have little impact but small trades can turn out to have future impact, so no trade is unimportant, at least for a while.

Patriots pound Browns 38-15

   The Cleveland Browns continued their decline into yet another disappointing season as they were dominated in every aspect of the game by Bill Belichick's New England Patriots in a 38-15 loss that saw about everything that is bad about this franchise bloom on a sunny day in Cleveland.

Jacoby Brissett threw one touchdown (and turned the ball over three times) to Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones caught four passes for seventy-four yards and Cade York made all three field attempts.

Cleveland drops to 2-4 and will travel to Baltimore next Sunday in a game that believe it or not could put the Browns in first place with a victory (Baltimore and Cincinnati are 3-3 at the top of the AFC North).

Brownie Bits

1) Here is the only encouraging bit of the day- Cade York was successful on all three field goal tries from 39,48, and 51 yards away.

That's about all I have.

2) No kidding comment of the day: Bill Belichick dared Jacoby Brissett to win the game for the Browns by making the Patriots' entire commitment to stopping Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and they did so as the Browns' star backfield rushed for only sixty-eight on a combined sixteen carries.

3) Still, that's a solid average of over four yards a carry but the Browns preferred to have Jacoby Brissett throw forty-five times instead and while the Browns trailed most of the game, it wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Browns were forced to throw.

Kevin Stefanski's press conference saw him say that he needs to do a better job of getting the ball into the hands of his best player more often (Nick Chubb).

Sure seems like that is said often by the person who calls the plays- which would also be Kevin Stefanski.

4) Jacoby Brissett continues to show why he is a career backup and why his track record shows that after he plays a month or so his performance declines drastically.

Two interceptions and a lost fumble have added up to another bad game from Brissett, which is what Bill Belichek (who drafted Brissett and kept him for his rookie year before trading him) was expecting with his defensive strategy.

5) I'm not among those calling for Joshua Dobbs to replace Brissett yet though.

Let's see how Brissett plays in Baltimore on Sunday and should he play poorly again, I'd consider Dobbs for the following game against the Bengals for two reasons.

The Bengals game is at home rather than the road and with the game taking place on Monday, Dobbs would have an extra day to prepare.

6) Another disappointing day for the defense, who allowed rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe to throw two touchdowns and over three hundred yards passing without an interception.

Zappe was selected by New England in the fourth round in the draft from Western Kentucky, where he played for only one season after spending his previous college career at Houston Baptist, which isn't known as a garden that grows NFL quarterbacks.

7) Denzel Ward hasn't had a great season but the Browns missed him against New England as Bailey Zappe seemed to be going out of his way to target whoever Martin Emerson was covering.

8) Grant Delpit made two huge errors, one in watching Hunter Henry cruise by him for a long score.

Delpit did appear to slip a bit but Henry might have beaten him to the ball anyway, although he may have kept Henry from scoring.

Delpit also made a big hit on Jonnu Smith rather than wrap up and tackle him and watched him bounce off and run for thirty more yards.

9) Then there was the onside kick after the Browns had cut the lead to nine that Ronnie Harrison recovered but was overruled on replay as A.J. Green was ruled to have had his feet out of bounds as he touched the ball even though the ball was possessed by Harrison.

Green was almost celebrating the recovery more than fighting for the ball but by the letter of the law, the right call was made.

10) Why was the onside kick needed with 6:17 to go?

Due to a decision that many of the "analytics" based coaches make all the time and it drives me crazy every time that Kevin Stefanski ( and Brandon Staley since I see so many Charger games) gamble on this and on this one I don't care what the numbers say.

After Jacoby Brissett hit Amari Cooper from fifteen yards for Cleveland's only touchdown of the day, Cleveland had narrowed the lead to nine to 24-15.

Rather than have Cade York kick the extra point to cut the lead to eight points and one possession to tie the game, Stefanski chose to go for the two-point conversion and failed to convert.

I don't care what the numbers say about down seven compared to down eight, I understand seven is more likely than eight but not as bad as one possession compared to two.

11) Myles Garrett sacked Bailey Zappe twice but appeared to have aggravated his shoulder injury from his car crash on the second sack.

Garrett will be hampered for a while by the injury as the obvious physical demands of football will likely continue to see the shoulder pounded and heal far slower than one would hope.

12) With the second sack, Myles Garrett broke Clay Matthews's team record for career sacks.

13) The Browns lost guard Wyatt Teller in the first half due to a calf injury.

No word on Teller's status at this writing but calf injuries are often multiple-week injuries.

14) Just an all-around awful performance from the top to the bottom.

Accountability is preached and plenty of cliches' are offered "We are going get this fixed" but the results don't match up.

At this rate, someone will take the fall at the end of the season but the question is who besides Joe Woods will that person or persons be? 

Browns release Tretter, trade for Winovich

  On a Tuesday that saw the Haslem bunch travel to make their pitch to DeShaun Watson in an attempt to have the beleaguered passer give the Browns his stamp of approval for a potential franchise-altering swap, the Cleveland Browns still were making alterations to the franchise as the Browns made two transactions that they did not need permission to make.

Cleveland released starting center J.C. Tretter after five seasons with the Browns.

Tretter was beaten up often in his Cleveland tenure but never missed a game and helped add professionalism to a team that desperately lacked it before his arrival from Green Bay.

The Browns will save eight million dollars off their cap by releasing Tretter but it remains to be seen if former fifth-round choice Nick Harris can replace Tretter's production.

Tretter had been questioned by some about the distraction of his role as the head of the players union since he took over that position but I don't think that it affected his performance with the Browns and I think that this all came down to moving dollars around (DeShaun Watson or no DeShaun Watson) and make a cheaper and a little younger offensive line.

The Browns also made a trade as they traded linebacker Mack Wilson to the Patriots in exchange for linebacker Chase Winovich.

While on a roster sheet, this looks like a trade of players at the same position the two are vastly different players as Winovich is an outside linebacker that adds pass-rush ability as a rush end while Wilson is a more traditional linebacker that can drop into coverage.

I always liked Mack Wilson since the Browns grabbed him in the fifth round from Alabama in 2019 and he played well as a rookie with eighty-two tackles, a sack, and an interception.

Wilson's playing time decreased in each of the following seasons and last season rarely played outside of special teams and it was clear that Wilson might have a hard time making the team in 2022.

I hope Wilson can make the best of his fresh start in New England with Bill Belichick, who likely has some inside information on Wilson from his college coach- one Nick Saban and I would not be shocked at all to see Wilson flourish in Foxboro.

Chase Winovich might be remembered by some as the long-haired leader of the Michigan Wolverines "Redemption Tour" in 2018 that talked so much smack only to lose to Ohio State but after the Patriots selected him in the third round in the 2019 draft, Winovich was productive in his first two seasons as he finished with five and a half sacks in both 2019 and 2020 in a part-time role as a pass rusher.

At 6'3 and only 250 pounds, Winovich will have to make his living off the pass rush as he's too small to play defensive end against the run and not quick enough to play in coverage and Winovich was occasionally a scratch for the Patriots, rarely playing and didn't notch a sack in his six tackles on the season. 

Like Mack Wilson, Winovich might be a player that needs a change of scenery, and to be used as a situational pass rusher could be helpful to the Browns.

The Winovich for Wilson is a classic trade of talented players that disappointed their teams that drafted them but have shown enough at times to have value for another team to take a chance with.

Browns Pasted by Patriots 45-7

 The Cleveland Browns continued their year of erratic performances with a loss that was so bad that I wasn't able to watch the final quarter and a half as the New England Patriots trounced the Browns 45-7 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

D'Ernest Johnson finished with 99 yards rushing and led the receiving stats for Cleveland with seven catches for 58 yards.

Baker Mayfield threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hooper to give the Browns their only score on their first possession of the game.

Cleveland drops back to .500 at 5-5 with the loss and will host winless (with a tie ) Detroit next Sunday.

Brownie Bits

1)  Let's give the good news- Love the effort of D'Ernest Johnson, who as the only healthy running back played his guts out in a game that was so poorly played by the Browns that I can't give almost any credit to anyone otherwise.

2) The defense was awful.

45 points to a rookie quarterback not known for lighting it up in Mac Jones and 100 rushing yards to Rhamondre Stevenson and I just can't spin this at all.

3) Myles Garrett answered a question at the post-game press conference that ended with Garrett stating that the Browns made "no adjustments".

That does not look good or bode well for the long-term employment of defensive coordinator Joe Woods.

4) Longest completion of the game? 18 yards.

5) Ok, Baker Mayfield time.

Another one of those games that you watch and wonder how the guy is in the league.

Second of the year to have that type of terrible outing.

6) Yes, Mayfield's one interception was a really bad one and it was the return of the ball sailing through the air like it was intended for the Cavaliers Tacko Fall but I'm not blaming all of this on Mayfield.

7) Because a team that just handed out big long-term extensions to their guards (Wyatt Teller and Joel Bitonio) allowed five sacks, more hurries, and hits on their quarterback than I can count along and considering Mayfield was already in the lineup injured, the offensive line just mailed this one in at the cost of the health of their starter.

8) To be fair, the injuries to Jack Conklin and his backup Chris Hubbard have forced the right tackle position to developmental project Blake Hance and Hance is over his head.

It's not the player's fault that he's out there but Hance isn't of even second-team quality right now and the Browns have no other options.

9) The Browns have struggled all season on third downs.

The offense rarely converts them and the defense rarely stops them and this continued in this game.

Cleveland: One of Eleven, New England: Seven of Nine.

10) Jason Lloyd of the Athletic offers a stat that I didn't know about and is correct on the fault.

The Cleveland Browns lead the league in pre-snap penalties- the cause of this?

Lloyd says discipline and coaching and he's right on both.

Remember the Kevin Stefanski mantra of accountability?

11) New England finished the game with three scoring drives of over NINETY yards!

NINETY! 9-0!

12) The Browns continue to struggle to get the ball to their wideouts and while some of that is on Baker Mayfield, the receivers need to take some blame too and Kevin Stefanski does as well.

Jarvis Landry's four catches netted a massive twenty-six yards and other than a single Donovan Peoples-Jones catch for sixteen yards, there were no other contributions from the wide receivers.

I know Odell Beckham isn't what he once was and I know the drama from the situation but it's numbers like those that made me laugh when Beckham was released to hear the Browns are better without him,

Not with a passing game like this, they aren't.

13) Erratic teams are usually around .500 and this one is but the Browns aren't beating good teams with two wins over teams with .500 or better records over the 5-4 Bengals and the very mediocre 5-5 Broncos.

In the seventeen-game season, my guess is that it will take at least ten wins and more likely eleven to feel comfortable that you are in the playoffs.

With seven games to go, only next week's home game against winless Detroit and a home game against the embattled Las Vegas Raiders seem to be safe bets.

I think the Browns are likely to beat the Bengals at home in the last game of the season mainly because the Bengals are the only team that Baker Mayfield reliably lights up, so let's say that three wins are likely.

That puts you at eight wins with a home game against Baltimore and road games against Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Green Bay remaining and having to win three of the four to reach eleven.

This team has the talent in spots to go 5-2 or more likely 6-1 to get the wins needed but I'm dubious of them pulling this off.

At this point, I am prepared to write this off as yet another disappointing season for the Browns.

Browns season slipping away in New England

On some occasions, there can be issues when you select a picture for a game recap, not just for the Browns but for any of the teams that we cover here in finding an image that is "just right" in reflecting what you are covering.
And then there are times that you find an image that just clicks and you don't have to look any further for what you need.

The image of a distraught Nick Chubb just walking up the sideline as the Browns and Patriots scramble for the football that Chubb had lost control of is the image of the Cleveland Browns 2019 season for now and it could be the image that describes the entire season when we look back.
The score for the Browns 27-13 loss in New England wasn't descriptive of the actual game as the Browns weren't that close to victory, yet the Patriots never showed complete domination of Cleveland as they have been able to do all season except for a 16-10 win over Buffalo.
I'll explain more shortly, but this game showed what the Browns could be and how far away they actually are from being a solid football team.

Nick Chubb rushed for 131 yards with two fumbles and Baker Mayfield hit Demetrius Harris with a 21-yard pass for the Browns only touchdown.
The now 2-5 Browns will travel to Denver next Sunday for a late afternoon tilt with the 2-6 Broncos.

Brownie Bits

1) I know the two first-half Nick Chubb fumbles put the Browns in a hole that they could never dig out of, but the fact still is that Nick Chubb rushed for over 100 yards against possibly the best defense in the league.
When you look at that alone and as hard as it is to do so, you have to feel good about the quality of running back that Nick Chubb is.

2)  The second fumble after a forty-four yard run isn't really excusable, it is simply a nice play made by a hustling Jonathan Jones and those plays happen more than you would suspect mainly because the runner doesn't have the "feel" of a defender around him and when he is caught the element of surprise comes into play.
It is not excusable, but it does happen,

3) Now, the first fumble by Chubb was excusable, as he was falling to the ground, the foot of Joel Bitonio kicked the ball out of his hand and Donta Hightower grabbed the tumbling football to take on for the touchdown.
You never wish to have these things happen, but they do and they are flukish.
I'm not worried about fumbling as a major issue with Nick Chubb.

4) Onto things that I am worried about and start at the top with the head coach Freddie Kitchens, who starting to look more and more like someone that could be best described by the "Peter Principle".
The Peter Principle is based on a management principle that people get promoted via success at their previous job until they reach a point of incompetence because the skills that enable success at one job do not always carry over to another.
Kitchens' use of  his challenges were poor because you rarely win the challenges that he questioned (the camera is never going to catch who really had the football at the bottom of a pile of players) and they could have used one on a Julian Edelman catch that might have been a fumble later in the game.
And a well-coached team doesn't commit thirteen more penalties either!

5) However, those pale in comparison to what dribbled out late in the game via two different sideline reporters.
The Browns have a fourth down and eleven deep in their own territory, Kitchens cannot decide whether he wants to go for it or not and finally the punting team is on the field.
Kitchens changes his mind and tells a lineman to go out and deliberately commit a false start and lose five yards but enables him to put the offense back into the game to try for the first down without losing a timeout.
Now with a fourth and sixteen play on deck, Mayfield gets sacked and New England takes over the football.
Once that cat left the bag and word of that decision spread, thoughts of the competence level of Freddie Kitchens were going to plummet and immediately rumors of his job security began to float.
I cannot imagine Kitchens getting fired now because of the message that would send (again) about the Browns organization, but I wouldn't rule anything out.

5) The Browns are 2-5 and I suspected all along when you looked at the schedule that could be a possibility, still, the Browns five losses are to two undefeated teams, both on the road (New England and San Francisco) one team at 6-2 (Seattle), a team that reached the Super Bowl last year and is 5-3 (Los Angeles Rams) and a 4-4 team (Tennessee).
Only the lopsided home loss to the Titans stands out as a game that you could argue was a bad defeat and that was more to due to the size of the loss with losing a home game, so 2-5 might have been a worst-case scenario, but they lost a game that you would think they would have won (Tennessee) and won one that was a likely loss (at Baltimore) so that's a wash.

6) Things are what they are and the long-awaited schedule weakening begins. but the Browns are backed into a corner and it looks to me that anything less than winning eight of their final nine games isn't going to get the job done.
The Browns travel to Denver (2-6) and even though the Broncos have their own chaos going on, Denver is still a tough place to play, Buffalo (5-2) may have been the anti-Browns having a light early schedule before a tough late slate, then playing Pittsburgh (2-4, but should be 3-4 after Miami tonight) twice in three weeks with winless Miami in between, two games with the winless Bengals in the final month,the 3-4-1 Cardinals in Arizona and the Baltimore rematch with the 5-2 division leaders.
Nine games, five home, four road, none of the road games with a team with a winning record, five games in the division- this can get done.

7) Now why it can't.
Baltimore is a full three games ahead for the division lead.
The second wild card right now belongs to Houston- two and a half games ahead of the Browns. and there are five more teams (Jaguars, Texans, Raiders, Chargers and assuming that they beat winless Miami- Steelers.) that the Browns would need to pass to get to Houston.
A difficult road to travel.

8) This team doesn't get the ball in the hands of their most explosive player.
Odell Beckham has one touchdown in seven games and really only two big plays.
Whether that is Baker Mayfield's seeming inability to hit receivers over twenty yards, Freddie Kitchens playcalling or an offensive line that doesn't give Beckham a chance to get downfield, the stats don't lie.
The Browns brought him in to help create an exciting wide-open offense and they aren't allowing Beckham to do what he does best.

9) Baker Mayfield still isn't very good.
By the numbers, he looked OK against the Patriots 20 of 31 for 193, but while five sacks certainly aren't all his fault, he still has his cut of the blame for them and his body language looks more like the Mayfield that showed up for the month just before Hue Jackson and Todd Haley were fired than the guy that played well enough to have enough stroke to get his guy hired as head coach.
Mayfield has been inaccurate downfield with passes often high that hang his receivers in the air as open season for defensive backs and the passes that are so inaccurate in passing downfield are more reminiscent of Seneca Wallace than a top overall draft selection.
Mayfield's shovel pass or softball flip to the gut of New England's Lawrence Guy was just awful and I'm not sure whether Mayfield is just lousy with that type of pass ( Don't laugh, some players really struggle with that.) or he didn't switch off a play that New England looked to have read, or his heart wasn't in the pass, but no matter what the result was terrible.
The fact that Mayfield's play is getting such a pass from many Browns fans shows just how badly Browns are hungering for anything resembling good play.
Perhaps Mayfield picks things up against the lesser competition coming up and we forget about this, but we are nearing a half-season that has seen him play well one time.

10) The Browns defense played well and I can't blame very much of the loss at their feet.
The Patriots scored only two touchdowns against them as their defense scored one on the Donta' Hightower ramble to run.
Olivier Vernon finished with six solo tackles and a sack and looked like the guy that John Dorsey thought he had acquired from the Giants and Sheldon Richardson had his best game as a Brown.
Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams allowed their share against the Patriots, but both, especially Williams, were targeted and all things considered weren't burned consistently.

11) Special teams were solid with Denzel Ward blocking a Mike Nugent field goal try and Austin Seibert connecting on both of his field goals on such a dreary evening.
Seibert still has plenty to prove, but seven games in, Seibert and Jamie Gillan are giving a positive return on the investment that the Browns put into them as their kicking tandem as rookies.
 
12) Wrapping up, I'm just not sure if the schedules softening turns the season around.
I can see that happening and I can also see the wheels going off and losing some of these games to teams that the Browns should defeat.
They lost to the Titans badly and that could happen against others that aren't Miami or Cincinnati.
Hoping for the best, but I wouldn't be surprised if this expected run of victories doesn't happen either.

Browns trade Josh Gordon to Patriots

The Josh Gordon saga ended Monday afternoon as the Cleveland Browns traded their talented, but inconsistent wide receiver to the New England Patriots along with a conditional seventh-round draft pick for the Patriots fifth-round pick.
New England only receives the seventh-rounder if Gordon is inactive for ten games this season.

Gordon had 'allegedly' suffered a hamstring injury filming a commercial Friday night and showed up at the Browns practice facility in Berea on Saturday "looking not himself".
Between that and the injury, the Browns had finally had enough and announced their intention to waive Gordon on Monday, which gave interested teams enough time to place minor bids in for the former Baylor receiver.

Although several teams were said to be in talks with the Browns, the word is from several sources that the Browns simply took the highest offer, which was the fifth-rounder from New England, which one would figure to be a very late fifth and move on from Gordon.
Gordon announced today that his hamstring was now "fine" and he expects to play for the Patriots on Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
While that smells very fishy and I might even speculate that this was meant for the Browns to release Gordon, which he could then receive a larger contract from a team of his choice, the Browns being able to trade Gordon removed the plan from the table as he will now have to continue under his current contract, so the Browns may not have taken away Gordon's wish to leave Cleveland, they did make sure that he did not gain financially from his actions.

Gordon was an explosive receiver in 2013 with over 1,600 yards receiving to lead the league but has played in just eleven games since then due to various suspensions and off the field issues.
The natural Cleveland thing is for Gordon to tear up the league with New England, but who really knows what Gordon has left physically (although he still shows glimpses of elite potential) and how he'll deal with any adversity at all, so I understand the appeal to New England, but I also realize how the Browns had to throw up their hands, say that they have tried it all and he just had to go.

The Browns signed veteran wideout Rod Streater to the roster to replace Gordon.
The thirty-year-old Streater has spent time with the Raiders and 49ers before being released by the Bills after training camp.
Streater had a strong 2013 as Josh Gordon did ( 60 catches, 888 yards with Oakland), but since that season, like Gordon, Streater has disappointed as he has just 41 catches since that season.

The Browns also released Zane Gonzalez as expected after yesterday's fiasco and had some potential kickers to take a look at for his replacement.
The selection was Greg Joseph, a rookie from Florida Atlantic, who lost a duel with the Dolphins for their job to draftee Jason Sanders.
I would have preferred a veteran that is more used to kicking in bad weather, but they must see something in Joseph, who did kick a 54 yarder among his 3 for 3 attempts in the preseason.
The problem is that Joseph was successful on just 69.5 percent of his kicks in college, which isn't especially high.
It's really tough guessing on kickers because who knows who is going to be successful and like relief pitchers in baseball- they can come from nowhere and be very inconsistent from year to year.
One thing is sure though, they could not afford to trot Zane Gonzalez out in Cleveland Thursday and expect something good to happen, so I commend them for trying to correct a problem.

Lots of pieces today and a Fightheads episode coming up as well.
Back tomorrow with more!

Browns trade Jason McCourty to New England

Bob Levey/Getty Images

The Cleveland Browns didn't add any new players on day two of the official NFL year, but they did jettison one player as the Browns traded defensive back Jason McCourty to the Patriots.

The Browns included a seventh-round pick in this year's draft in the deal and received the sixth-rounder of New England in return for McCourty, who will turn 31 during training camp.

I was mildly surprised with the move, mainly because even with the signings yesterday in the secondary of T.J. Carrie and Terrance Mitchell, the Browns still seemed to need further help and I thought McCourty was arguably the team's best player among the defensive backs last season with 54 solo tackles and three interceptions.
I thought McCourty might be moved to safety with his age and ball skills, I think he has a good chance of making that transition with New England, should they decide to try that move and I thought he would have been a decent option for the Browns there, but when the Browns decided that Damarious Randall was going to play safety and not cornerback after being brought in from Green Bay that McCourty was expendable.

Initially, McCourty was announced as released with a wave of other players, but that was amended to this trade, which moves a pick up one round when New England had interest in acquiring McCourty,
The Patriots have the other McCourty twin (Devin) and the Browns likely decided to do a favor to a hardworking veteran and traded him to the Patriots.
New England may have acted quickly to make a trade before a release as perhaps another team would have claimed him off waivers (New England is next to last in waiver claims).

There were several players released by the Browns today, but only one of note as the team released wide receiver Sammie Coates.
Coates was obtained from Pittsburgh just before the opener with a 2019 seventh rounder for a 2018 sixth-rounder in a trade similar to the McCourty trade in which Pittsburgh received something for a player that they may have released anyway.
Coates never seemed to get on track with Cleveland (He wasn't alone in that) and often seemed listless and finished with only six catches for seventy yards...

Browns trade Danny Shelton

The vapor trail out of Cleveland continued on Saturday as the Browns traded defensive lineman Danny Shelton to the New England Patriots as yet another former first-round draft pick is jettisoned from the station.

The Browns sent Shelton and their fifth-round pick in April's draft to New England in exchange for the Patriots 3rd round selection in 2019.
Shelton played in 14 games last year without a sack and was reported to have played on less than half of the defensive downs.
Shelton was the final Ray Farmer first-rounder to leave after being the 12th overall pick in the 2012 draft and was drafted to be the run plugger in the two gap as the "Haloti Ngata" in the 3-4 then used by the Browns.

I've been reading that Danny Shelton was a bust and I think that is a somewhat harsh assessment.
It's true that Shelton may not have produced as much as the Browns would have hoped for a player selected in the first dozen picks, but I thought he had a pretty solid season in 2016 and seemed to be coming into his own.
However, Shelton's body type makes him suited to be the nose tackle/two-gap tackle in a 3-4 defense and ill-suited for the more athletic tackle position in the 4-3 that was installed before the 2017 season under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
The Browns' defensive line is probably the strength of the defense and with two young defensive tackles better suited to the 4-3 in Larry Ogunjobi and Caleb Brantley impressing during their rookie seasons last year and deserving more playing time, it was probably a decision that made sense for the Browns and it'll help Shelton as well.
Yeah, going from the Browns to the Patriots is a given, but the Patriots play the 3-4, Shelton should be able to help the Patriots in a role that he is best suited for and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to look back in a year or two and having to add Danny Shelton to a list of players that didn't succeed at their full potential until they left Cleveland.

I know it seems like the Browns didn't get much for Shelton, a pick likely to be near the end of the third round and not being used until 2019.
However, the Browns really didn't plan on using all of these picks and bringing in 12 more rookies to an already young team wasn't going to add any experience, so moving a player that didn't fit the defensive scheme, sending him to a place that he does fit (that helps with players more than you know when talking about an organization) and getting a day two pick for 2019 is about as good of a return as you could expect.
I always liked Danny Shelton, but this makes sense for both parties.

Back later with more boxing...

Browns trade for Jamie Collins

The Cleveland Browns indeed made a trade before the trade deadline,but the surprise was that there was talent entering the Browns complex-not leaving at as many expected..

The Browns trade for linebacker Jamie Collins of the Patriots for the compensation third rounder at the end of that round in the 2017 draft seems to make no sense for an 0-8 going nowhere,but I'm going to tell you the thought process behind this deal and even if you don't agree with it,it'll make sense with how the front office is doing things..

The Browns already have lots of picks in the 2017 (2 firsts,2 seconds,now their own third and 3 fourths) draft and feel that for this cost that Jamie Collins,a Pro Bowl linebacker is a bargain price.
When you look at the massive amount of youth on this year's team and the likelihood of least almost as many next season,the Browns could say what's one pick?
But,one could ask the question that isn't Collins a free agent at the end of the season and why wouldn't he just walk away from a losing team like the Browns?
Well,he may,but the Browns could franchise him,if they can avoid having to do that with Terrelle Pryor and if Collins leaves via free agency? Well,the Browns would get (wait for it) mostly a compensation pick in the third round of the 2018 draft as they continue to accumulate assets in that draft.
So,essentially,this is how the deal breaks down if Collins leaves-Cleveland gets to play Collins for eight games and for that right would trade a 2017 3rd for a 2018 3rd.
If Collins buys into Hue Jackson and what the Browns are trying to build,the Browns just added a Pro Bowl linebacker for a pick at the end of the 3rd round.

Another question is this-If Jamie Collins is such a good player,why isn't he still playing for the title contending Patriots?
Well,New England likely won't have the cap space to keep Collins anyway after the season,so Bill Belichick can send that proverbial message to his team that business is business to keep them on their toes while adding an asset in the third round for the next draft.
Mike Lombardi,(and his opinion means little) is reporting that Collins had not been playing within the system this year and been "freelancing" more than Belichick cared for.
That may be on this team,Collins instantly becomes the best player on the defense with 43 tackles,a sack,forced fumble and two interceptions after leading the Patriots in tackles for the last two seasons.
Collins is a three down linebacker that can rush the passer and excel in pass coverage,so the Browns are getting an excellent player to build around,if he can be retained.

The trade might not make sense to some,but I'm intrigued and it'll be interesting to see how Jamie Collins attitude is coming to Cleveland.
If motivated,he could raise his demand on the free agent market with a strong final eight games and if not cost himself some dollars as well.
For the Browns,it's pretty low risk when you consider everything involved and how the Browns are thinking right now.
Collins will likely cost a bundle and the Browns may not to decide to pay that much when they are this far away from contention.
For me,I get it-I just want to win one game and hopefully Jamie Collins is a step forward in getting that one win...

Brady's Bunch batters Browns 33-13

Tom Brady's return went about as well as the New England Patriots could have expected as the veteran threw for over 400 yards against the all-cocoa togged Cleveland Browns and New England easily grabbed a 33-13 victory in Cleveland.
The Browns used three quarterbacks in the defeat as both Cody Kessler and Charlie Whitehurst each tossed a touchdown for the two Cleveland scores.
The still winless at 0-5 Browns will travel to Tennessee next week against the better than expected Titans...

Brownie Bits

1) Yes,three quarterbacks took snaps in this as Terrelle Pryor had to finish the game after Cody Kessler was crushed in the end zone in the first half and Charlie Whitehurst sprained a knee with five minutes to go in the game.
Kessler didn't break a rib,but is still questionable to play in the Tennessee game,while Whitehurst said he would be OK to play against Tennessee...

2) The Kessler hit by New England's Donta Hightower was brutal to watch as he roared up the middle without even being brushed by a block and drove Kessler into the turf.
A clean hit for sure and one that made me wince watching on television.
For whatever you think of Cody Kessler,the Browns need to use this situation to see what he has for a while-Not Charlie Whitehurst or any other placeholder...

3) What another horrific outing for the right side of the offensive line.
Yes,Joe Thomas and Joel Bitonio are as good as it gets on the left side,but John Greco is better at left guard than when he is forced to move to center and the right side is just below average at best and terrible at worst.
If the Browns don't have another quarterback miss substantial time before this season is out,I'll be surprised.

4) This team needs Corey Coleman back badly.
Without Coleman to stretch the field,teams are able to show no respect for anyone other than Terrelle Pryor outside and therefore take Pryor away with double teams.
I'd like to see more playing time for Rashard Higgins and have no idea why in this situation that we aren't seeing more from him in particular and Jordan Payton as well...

5) Was nice to see a little bit of production from tight end  as Gary Barnidge caught a 31 yard pass (five on the day for 76 yards) and recently promoted Connor Hamlett caught a 17 yard touchdown pass from Charlie Whitehurst.
Size wise,Hamlett reminds me a little bit of Jordan Cameron.
I would think with a rookie (or limited veteran) quarterback would be making better use of Gary Barnidge and the tight end position

6) The D'Qwell Jackson award for multiple tackles down the field without much of an impact on this team goes to Christian Kirksey,who finished with 11 solo tackles and assisted on more.
Kirksey (like Jackson) is the type of player that looks good on the stat sheet (to those IDP fantasy players like me),but does very little to impact the game..

7) This game was just one of those that was always going to be bad news,once  you saw that this was going to be Tom Brady's return,but when Buffalo whipped the Pats last week,one could easily see that this was going to be ugly,but this could have been much worse.
The Browns did stop the Patriots once on a fourth and short deep in Cleveland territory and Stephen Gostkowski missed a long field goal at the end of the half and New England could have ran the score up more-Could have been far worse...

8) The secondary is bad-brutally bad.
Five passing plays of over 35 yards and the Browns cover tight ends like they have a yellow jersey on and they are Green Lanterns.
Martellus Bennett was so open on a touchdown catch that he could have bunny hopped into the end zone.
Does it say just how bad Justin Gilbert was that he couldn't play for this team???

9) Isaiah Crowell's day was pretty rough with just 22 yards with a long rush for the day being just six yards.
Offensive line is more than just pass protecting...

10) I watched a decent amount of the Tennessee-Miami game yesterday and came away with some good feelings on the improving Titans.
I thought earlier this year that if the Browns got a win that one of their best chances would be this one at Tennessee.
I don't think so now.
That doesn't mean that they are without a chance,just that I don't think that chance is as high as before the season..

11) What games did I circle?
For the record they were two road and two home-the road games were Miami and Tennessee and the home games aren't here yet-New York Jets and San Diego.
From what I see of the Dolphins,they aren't a lot better than the Browns and that game might be the only one that they win for a while.....

Reviewing the tape-Pounding the Pats!!

The Cleveland Browns clicked up a win that I believe might have been the biggest and most impressive since their return to the NFL in 1999 last Sunday with a steamrolling of the New England Patriots 34-14.

Brownie Bits

1) Impressive? That wasn't the word for it.
The Cleveland Browns bullied and plundered the 6-1 New England Patriots and did what they pleased.
For whatever one thinks of Eric Mangini and Brian Daboll, on this day, one cannot complain.
Win against the Jets this Sunday, and even more will move into their corner.
That (to my surprise) seems very possible as the Jets aren't exactly an offensive juggernaut.

2) This was total domination in all three facets of the game as the offense used daring and muscle to physically beat up the Pats defense, the defense confused Tom Brady with a dazzling variety of fronts, blitzes, and coverages, and the special teams were strong as well, using a pop-up kickoff to gain possession.

3) Peyton Hillis ran for 184 yards, and what I love most is the willingness to run between the tackles and run over people.
That usually doesn't make for career longevity, but it does make you a memorable fan favorite...

4) Colt McCoy ran for a touchdown and gave even more hope that he could be the eventual quarterback.
McCoy made plays when needed, yet didn't force things and make the type of error that can change a game.
Against the Saints, the Browns won despite McCoy; on this day, the Longhorn was a contributing factor in the win...

5) What a crazy call by Brian Daboll with the Josh Cribbs handoff to Chansi Stuckey for a rushing touchdown that crushed the stunned New England defenders.
That play was the pivotal one of the game to me...

6) McCoy's toss to Evan Moore downfield that Moore hauled in with a great catch was a step forward in setting the tone of the game early as well.
The Moore catch set up Peyton Hillis and his first TD run.
Why Moore isn't a larger part of the offense with receivers this weak still baffles me.

7) Ahtuba Rubin had the only sack of Tom Brady, but the barrage of Browns kept Brady off balance all day, and Rob Ryan gets plenty of credit for that.
I think the Browns can do the same to Mark Sanchez, but the wild card is REX Ryan.
Can he anticipate his brother's thinking for this week's game?

8) I am often critical of Abram Elam,but Elam played well in the game.
Often times Elam is a less-than-strong tackler, which is the opposite of the reputation that he brought to town, but Elam was very solid in this one.

9) Tons of credit to the beef up front as Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach were knocking Patriots off the ball on every run.
Both had their struggles at times this season, but both were huge last Sunday.

10) How much did Bill Belichick have to hate the post-game handshake in this one?
Shaking the hand of the man he despises most in Mangini in the one city in the country that doubts his genius had to be difficult for him....

11) I realize that this is crazy, but keep this in mind-IF (and a huge if it is) the Browns could get by the Jets this week, Cleveland would be 4-5.
The Browns then have the easiest run on their schedule all season- 4-4 Jacksonville,1-7 Carolina,4-4 Miami,0-8 Buffalo, and 2-6 Cincinnati, a 4-1 run through that would put the Browns at 8-6 with the Ravens and Steelers coming to Cleveland.
I still think that is optimistic, but conceivable.
Only with a win over the Jets, though,3-6 might be too big a hole to dig out of ....
A guy can dream, can't he?

Photo Credits
Handshake_John Kuntz-Cleveland Plain Dealer

Hillis-Joshua Gunter-Cleveland Plain Dealer