Cleveland Browns were never as good as many thought
By Randy Gurzi
There are those thinking a 2-4 start for the Cleveland Browns is shocking but if so, they’re clearly guilty of overvaluing the talent on this roster
No fanbase ever wants to admit their team isn’t good but sometimes they go the opposite way and convince themselves they’re far better than they actually are. That’s exactly what’s happened with the Cleveland Browns this season.
Now at 2-4, there are those who are beyond furious with the team and are blaming the head coach, defensive coordinator, and general manager as they demand answers. But maybe the real answer is staring them in the face, but they didn’t want to see it.
And what they don’t want to see is that this Cleveland roster has been grossly overrated.
This isn’t to say they’re a bad team, because they’re not. But they’re also not good enough to compete with a backup quarterback, which is what Jacoby Brissett is.
Think about it. This is nearly an identical roster to the one that went 8-9 last season. Sure, they got better with Amari Cooper taking over for Jarvis Landry but other than that, there weren’t nearly enough upgrades. And under center, they downgraded.
Hate on Baker Mayfield all you want, but he was better in 2021 than Brissett has been over the past couple of weeks. That’s limited the effectiveness of Cooper as well as other offensive weapons such as David Njoku.
For the first few games, Kevin Stefanski masked Brissett’s limitations with his play scheme. But as we have seen, when they need him to dig deep and make a play, he simply can’t do it.
Browns defense doesn’t have elite talent
In addition to the struggles Brissett has had, the Cleveland defense has been a mess. The popular reaction is to blame the defensive coordinator but is it all on Joe Woods?
While he does deserve some criticism, the talent isn’t there either. Yes, Myles Garrett is a beast but outside of that, there hasn’t been anyone playing well. Jadeveon Clowney is constantly hurt, Denzel Ward has regressed, and the linebackers and safeties can’t tackle.
For the past three seasons, Cleveland has been adding players and the fan base claims they were stolen by Andrew Berry since they were still there in the third, fourth, or fifth round. Or maybe, they signed a deal that elite players usually didn’t sign.
Looking back, maybe those weren’t steals or deals players took to play in Cleveland. Instead, they were limited players that other teams passed on due to those limitations.
Again, it doesn’t mean they’re terrible, but we’re also not watching 22 Pro Bowl players being held back by coaches. The sooner we accept this, the easier it will be to get through this season without completely losing our minds.
