Daily Dawg Tags: Bad quarterback play plaguing the league
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns are struggling to find an answer at quarterback, but as Sunday’s slate of NFL games revealed, they are not alone.
The Cleveland Browns closed out their most satisfying day of the 2017 NFL season on Sunday.
Of course, the Browns were on their bye week, but when the team is sitting at 0-8 for the second consecutive season, it is not a time to quibble.
The Browns did not lose on Sunday, no interceptions were thrown in the red zone, no passes were dropped or players injured. No more empty talk about having to “watch the film” before dissecting what went wrong.
Instead it was an easy Sunday afternoon of watching other teams suffer through the type of bad quarterback play that the NFL media would have fans believe only exists in Cleveland.
In New Orleans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston was benched after going seven-of-13 for 67 yards in a 30-10 loss to the Saints.
In Philadelphia, Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler was 19-of-38 for 191 yards, two interceptions and three sacks in a 51-23 loss to the Eagles.
In Jacksonville, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton threw for all of 136 yards in a 23-7 loss to the Jaguars.
In Houston, Titans quarterback Tom Savage was 19-of-44 for 219 yards and a pair of sacks in a 20-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
This is in no way to excuse what has been going on with the Browns, of course, but rather to point out, again, that bad football is played throughout the league on a regular basis and is not only found on the shores of Lake Erie.
Cleveland Browns news:
Cleveland Browns: Thumbs up, thumbs down at the midway point
The Cleveland Browns are enjoying their bye week while sitting at 0-8. Here is what has gone right, and wrong, through the first half of the season.
Browns reportedly make Joe Thomas league’s highest-paid lineman
The Cleveland Browns rewarded injured left tackle Joe Thomas by adding some extra cash to his existing deal to make him the league’s highest-paid lineman in 2018.
DPD Podcast: Browns on the bye week
The Cleveland Browns had a crazy bye week, which was discussed in the latest emergency episode of the Dawg Pound Daily Podcast.
Browns have to be careful with Josh Gordon (cleveland.com)
"Go slow. That’s also what the Cleveland Browns should do in the next few weeks with Josh Gordon, who has been cleared to play by the NFL."
NFL news:
NFL should suspend A.J. Green and maybe Mike Evans (ESPN)
"The NFL has its work cut out this week to address a pair of ugly brawls that were officiated much differently but could still lead to multiple suspensions. Let’s try to make sense of what happened in Jacksonville and New Orleans, in a span of less than an hour, and project the likeliest scenarios for what will happen next."
"They offer players a putrid punch in the nose but likely little actual performance boost. So how exactly did smelling salts become an essential part of NFL game days?"
The NFL’s MVP might be a punter? (The New York Times)
"Greg Zuerlein kicks for the Los Angeles Rams, but on a cloudless afternoon here last month, he played the role of a receiver practicing his sideline footwork. As the Rams’ three quarterbacks performed passing drills on an adjacent field, Johnny Hekker pointed toward Zuerlein and raised his arms in triumph. Hekker had punted those balls. He easily could have thrown them."
Bears defense is engine driving second-half hopes (Chicago Tribune)
"The Chicago Bears defense hit the open date riding a wave of takeaways. After it forced only three turnovers in the first five weeks of the season, the dam finally broke. With eight takeaways in the last three games, the defense has gone from good to really good and solidified the sense it can keep the Bears competitive in the second half of the season no matter how badly the offense sputters."