Daily Dawg Tags: Browns still a work in progress
By Thomas Moore
Spanning the virtual globe to bring you the latest news about the Cleveland Browns and the NFL – these are your Daily Dawg Tags for Wednesday, Sept. 14.
It was a mostly quiet day for the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday.
No starters were lost to injury and no historic losses were recorded.
The team still dealt with the noise, however, from the nonsensical debate that the franchise is doomed because it did not draft quarterback Carson Wentz, who apparently is being fitted for a gold Hall of Fame jacket after one game.
“We’re not going to rush to judgment on any guys, much less kind of our draft picks,” executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown said. “So we’ll wait to see how all that pans out. But, you know, we made the best decision for our organization at the time. So it’s easy to look at, I think, one performance. We’ll look at [Wentz] over time and judge.”
With Week 1 out of the way, the Browns are turning their focus to Sunday’s home opener against the Baltimore Ravens, so let’s catch up with the latest news about the Browns and from around the NFL.
Cleveland Browns news:
Offensive line improving, but still needs work
"The Cleveland Browns lost their season opener for the 12th consecutive time. The game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday was ugly, as the Browns offense was flat-out painful to watch. The inconsistent play by the offensive line contributed to the debacle."
Too early to have regrets over Carson Wentz
"Some Cleveland Browns fans may be angry at the front office for passing on Carson Wentz in the NFL Draft after seeing how well he played this past Sunday."
Color rush uniforms on hold until 2017
"The NFL debuted its color rush uniform concept on Tuesday that teams will wear for the remaining slate of Thursday night games. Just don’t get excited about the Cleveland Browns because they won’t be participating."
"See which plays stood out as difference-makers in the 29-10 loss suffered by the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday."
Cleveland Browns: Week 2 NFL power rankings
"The Cleveland Browns had quite the opening to the 2016 NFL season against the Philadelphia Eagles. A 19-point loss to a rookie quarterback making his first start. An NFL-record 12th consecutive loss on Week 1. Surely some kind of NFL record for losing their starting quarterback to injury in back-to-back seasons in the first game. The weekly power rankings reflected the bad day."
Browns to be patient before second-guessing Carson Wentz decision (ohio.com)
"Based on the stellar NFL debut of Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, it looks as if the Browns may be haunted by their decision to pass on him in April’s draft by trading the No. 2 overall pick. Yet coach Hue Jackson insisted the Browns haven’t second-guessed their choice to forgo Wentz."
RG3’s injury forces Browns to look hard at drafting a QB (cleveland.com)
"Robert Griffin III’s fractured shoulder forces the Browns to look long and hard again at taking a quarterback high in the 2017 draft. They’ll have the ammunition to do it in the form of two first-round picks."
NFL news:
The NFL can’t protect its quarterbacks (The Ringer)
"The NFL quarterback has long been the most important position in sports, and that significance has only grown as passing yardage has risen nearly 20 percent since 2005. And as the position has evolved during the modern era, there’s been just one constant: the league’s continued inability to protect its passers."
C.J. Spiller adds to New Orleans Saints’ growing list of personnel blunders (Times-Picayune)
"Sean Payton sometimes oversells players in the media by design. That’s exactly what the New Orleans Saints coach attempted to do with running back C.J. Spiller this offseason. Maybe, just maybe a team would take Spiller and his salary away from the Saints if they heard he was healthy and looking more like the old Spiller. No one took the bait. Now the Saints are cutting bait on Spiller."
Some Rams coaches prefer Jared Goff (Mercury News)
"A movement within the Los Angeles Rams may already be underway to get Jared Goff under center. Some of the team’s coaches reportedly think Goff should start instead of Case Keenam, who led the Rams to exactly zero points in their season opener against the 49ers."
Posture key to Cam Newton’s protection (NFL.com)
"The fallout from the Carolina Panthers’ Week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos centered on a series of helmet-to-helmet hits absorbed by Cam Newton. The NFL’s vice president of officiating confirmed a report by NFL Network’s Judy Battista that one of the unflagged hits on Newton should have been a penalty."