Cleveland Browns: Grades from the horrendous loss to the Bengals
Coaching: F
In the NFL, so much comes down to preparation. And in the end, this is precisely why head coaches are paid so much.
Coming off of a bye week, Cleveland was not prepared in so many ways. This is unacceptable, and reflects directly on the coaching staff.
This was evident when the Browns were penalized for illegal formation twice, when they couldn’t get a play called and had to use a timeout because Pryor was arguing with Griffin, and when there were miscommunications in the passing game which wasted downs. All of this comes down to preparation, which the Browns apparently did none of in the two weeks leading up to this rivalry matchup.
It was good to see a slightly more balanced game called by Jackson, as well as a gutsy fourth-down call deep in Cleveland territory. This is what the Browns need to do if they are going to steal a win, because obviously, they aren’t going to the traditional way.
It would be a good start though to prepare the right way, and have the team ready to play. With the Browns coming out the way they did, they were in an insurmountable hole. Clearly, coach Hue and his staff did not have the team in the right mindset and did not motivate them to come out in a very winnable game.
“Well, you know I gotta look at the tape,” Jackson told the media after the game. Maybe, just maybe, if coach Hue looks at the tape for long enough, it will suddenly change and the Browns will have beaten the Bengals. With the way everything is going, that’s probably the team’s best hope.
The roster can be horrible. The front office can even make some absentminded moves. But what infuriates fans more than anything is when the team that they spend their hard-earned money on is not ready to go in front of their home fans coming off of a bye week.
Next: 3 takeaways from the latest loss
In the end, this reflects negatively on the coaching staff. Jackson seems to have lost this team, as the players are mentally checking out. If he wants to avoid the worst season in NFL history, this better change fast.