Cleveland Browns: Is Joe Woods Icarus or The Didact?

Is Joe Woods Icarus?

The story of Icarus is a well-known Greek myth; Icarus and his father Daedalus build wings from wax and feathers in order to escape Crete. Daedalus instructs Icarus to not fly too close to the sun, which would melt the wax, nor too close to the sea, which would dampen the feathers. Icarus ignores his father’s warning and flies towards the sun, which of course melts the wax and sends him tumbling into the sea where he drowns.

Flying too close to the sun is a lesson that everyone has to learn at some point in their lives, and it’s something that has come up with Woods’ scheme multiple times this season.

In Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland got out to a 41-14 lead with just 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Dallas came roaring back in the fourth quarter to make it a three-point game with 3:42 to go, and if not for a brilliant play by Odell Beckham Jr., the Cowboys may very well have won that game based on how their offense was playing.

Week 13 against the Tennessee Titans was a similar situation. Cleveland raced out to a 38-7 halftime advantage, and Henry was completely shut down. The Browns ended up winning by just six points, although this one was less egregious, as the score was 41-21 with under 90 seconds remaining.

Then against Pittsburgh in the Wild Card game, the Browns stunned everyone by putting up 28 first quarter points and taking a 35-10 lead into halftime. The game ended 48-37, with the Browns leading by two or more scores from the 9:46 mark in the opening quarter through the end of the game.

The difference between the first two games and the third is that the offense clearly took its foot off the gas, while it continued to push against Pittsburgh.