Daily Dawg Tags: Grading the Browns
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 Tuesday, Sept. 27.
The Cleveland Browns head into Week 4 of the NFL season as one of four teams sporting an 0-3 record.
While losing is not an unexpected outcome for a team that is once again rebuilding a roster from the foundation up, head coach Hue Jackson made one thing clear on Monday: the losses are not part of some preordained plan.
“I do want everyone to know we’re not tanking the season,” Jackson said during his press conference following the overtime loss to Miami. “I’m not after the first pick.”
Though Sunday’s game against the Dolphins and the home opener against the Baltimore Ravens produced disappointing results, it would be hard to come to the conclusion that the Browns are not playing hard this season.
Sometimes, with a young team, you have to learn how not to lose before you can learn how to win.
Let’s start off the day by catching up with the latest news about the Browns and from around the NFL.
Cleveland Browns news:
Grades from the loss to the Dolphins
"Looking at how each Cleveland Browns position group performed in the 30-24 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins Sunday afternoon."
3 defensive takeaways from the Miami game
"The Cleveland Browns found a new way to rip fans’ hearts out of their chests Sunday afternoon. Three missed field goals later, the Browns are now 0-3 and seemingly unable to win games late in the fourth quarter, although this is nothing new. Let’s take a look at three takeaways from the defense’s performance in another loss."
Cody Kessler did enough to earn another start
"The Cleveland Browns should have seen enough from rookie quarterback Cody Kessler to feel comfortable giving him another start this weekend."
Austin Pasztor put in a position to fail (NFL Spin Zone)
"Cody Parkey and Austin Pasztor will largely be blamed for the Cleveland Browns loss to the Miami Dolphins, but it all should come back to the coaching staff."
Hue Jackson: We are not tanking this season (ESPN)
"A not-so-pleasant word keeps arising with the Cleveland Browns, and it’s not losing. The notion that some feel the Browns are “tanking” this season was brought up to coach Hue Jackson at his news conference Monday, the day after the Browns fell to 0-3 with a 30-24 overtime loss in Miami."
Alvin Bailey arrested for OVI, failure to comply (The Post)
"Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Alvin Bailey was arrested for OVI and other counts after being stopped by police while in a Cleveland Metroparks parking lot around 1 a.m. Sept. 26."
NFL news:
Carson Wentz nothing short of a rock star (Yahoo Sports)
"Before this season started, the Cleveland Browns for some reason were openly telling the media they didn’t think Carson Wentz would be a top-20 quarterback in the NFL, so they traded the second pick of the draft instead of taking Wentz. Three games don’t make a career, but there aren’t 20 quarterbacks you’d select over Wentz right now. I’m not sure you can find a definitive list of 10. And Wentz is still in his first month as a professional."
Oakland Raiders release Marcel Reese (Just Blog Baby)
"After keeping the active roster at 52 players for the first three weeks of the regular season, the presumption was that the Oakland Raiders were keeping that last spot open for Marcel Reece, who was suspended for the first three games. Guess not. Reece was released today, with word first coming via Adam Schefter."
Greg Hardy arrested on drug charges (SI.com)
"Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy was arrested for possession of a controlled substance on Friday, police confirmed to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. Hardy is currently at Richardson City Jail, with bond set at $5,000, the station reports. According to TMZ, he was in possession of less than a gram of cocaine."
Manti Te’o may have played his last game in San Diego (Bolt Beat)
"The injury woes continue for the San Diego Chargers in 2016, and it’s hard to say what’s worse between them and the fact that the team is off to a 1-2 start when it could easily be 3-0. This sounds familiar, right Chargers fans?"