The Cleveland Browns secured a winning season for the second time in four years under head coach Kevin Stefanski after defeating the Chicago Bears 20-17 in Week 15. While the head coach and his players deserve all the praise, another man also deserves a piece of that praise. That man is Andrew Berry who was responsible for making all the moves to put this team at 9-5.
Berry should be a strong candidate for Executive of the Year for all of the moves he made this offseason and even during the season. The Browns have been losing players left and right to injured reserves much like the Who's of Whoville lose presents to the Grinch. Berry went out and added key veterans who have all made some sort of impact this season.
The overhaul of the defense has paid dividends
Last season, the defense was just not good enough to win football games and that side of the ball needed the most attention in the offseason. Berry went out and did a complete overhaul of the defense and that started by hiring Jim Schwartz as the new defensive coordinator. This move is arguably the best offseason signing league-wide as this unit is playing some damn good football, especially at home.
Berry and the Browns went out and spent money on the defensive side of the ball with the additions of Dalvin Tomlinson, Shelby Harris, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Za'Darius Smith, Maurice Hurst to shore up the defensive line and safeties Rodney McLeod and Juan Thornhill. While some of those players have been plagued with injuries, they all contributed when on the field.
With all of these new additions and the hiring of Schwartz, Myles Garrett has been unlocked to a whole different level. While he doesn't always record sacks, he's constantly pressuring the opposing quarterbacks. He has single-handedly taken over games and made his presence known, despite being held at an absurd rate with no laundry on the field. He's at the top of the leaderboard in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award and has a real shot at finally checking that off his list.
The secondary is the best in football, allowing 158.9 yards per game through the air. The trio of Denzel Ward, Martin Emerson Jr., and Greg Newsome II have been locking down on the shores of Lake Erie. Emerson and Newsome are both playing some of the best football of their young careers and Ward has proven he is still an upper echelon corner in the league.
Dustin Hopkins has proven to be the trade of the year
It's not often that you talk about a trade for a kicker being a big deal, but for the Browns, it has been a massive deal. Cleveland traded a seventh round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for veteran kicker Dustin Hopkins on the last day of training camp. Some fans scoffed at the notion that Berry would give up draft capital in favor of a kicker who lost a camp battle. Well, Hopkins has proven that the risk was rewarded and the Browns have benefitted greatly.
Hopkins leads the NFL with 33 made field goals on 36 attempts. He's tied for the league lead with eight field goals from 50-plus yards, including a career-best 58-yarder. He has four game-winning field goals inside of two minutes, which also leads the league. His 33 field goals have surpassed Browns' legend Phil Dawson (30) for the franchise record.
Another record Hopkins is approaching is the most points scored in a season. Hopkins has 121 points on the season with 33 field goals while connecting on 22-of-24 on extra point tries, and that is just five points less than Browns' and NFL legend Jim Brown scored back in 1964. Cleveland has needed every single one of those points this season and that's a huge reason they are sitting at 9-5 and controlling their own destiny to the playoffs.
The Browns have won with four different starting quarterbacks
Heading into the season, the Browns thought they had their franchise quarterback in Deshaun Watson fully healthy and ready for a fresh start. Well, they did have that only for that dream scenario to last six games before Watson was lost for the season with a shoulder injury.
Cleveland threw rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson to the wolves, err, the Ravens in Week 4 by announcing the move two-and-a-half hours before kickoff. The rook stood no chance against a stout Baltimore defense and that was enough for Stefanski to switch to P.J. Walker.
Walker helped lead the team to two victories, including two game-winning drives, but ultimately proved why he has been a journeyman backup in the league. Watson was available briefly prior to the injury, and then it was back to DTR. The kid played well and seemed to be getting his feet under him, but then he suffered a concussion.
Now, the Browns are relying on 38-year old former nemesis Joe Flacco to guide the ship - hopefully to a ship - and so far, it's been pretty, pretty, pretty good. Flacco, who was watching football with his family on the couch, got the call and signed with the Browns practice squad. After the normal stints on the practice squad, Cleveland signed Flacco to a deal through the remainder of the season that is laden with financial incentives.
Stop me if you've heard this before; the Browns starting quarterback would have been limited in practice should the team practiced on Wednesday, which they did not. Flacco was listed with a calf injury, so of course that will be something to watch this week.
While the quarterbacks have done just enough in most games, and Flacco exceeding that with back-to-back 300-plus yard games in consecutive victories, that hasn't stopped wide receiver Amari Cooper showing why he's WR1. Cooper is 15 yards away from being the first Browns' player in franchise history to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Also, the play of David Njoku, especially over the last two weeks, has propelled this offense and given Flacco a true No. 2 target.
Berry and Stefanski elected to not go with a veteran backup going in the season as they traded Josh Dobbs to the Cardinals. At first this move proved to be costly with Watson's injury and Dobbs playing well in Arizona. However, Berry made the right move and got a veteran with a Super Bowl on his resume, and Stefanski has coached his butt off and put Flacco in great positions to succeed. Stefanski should be the clear-cut favorite for NFL Coach of the Year, even if some of his own fanbase doesn't approve (those people are wrong).
Andrew Berry has assembled one hell of a football team and due to the hiring, signings, and trades he orchestrated. With all that Berry did and all that the coaches have been able to do, despite a bevy of injuries, this culture has shifted. Everyone on the team plays for one another regardless of who is on the field. All of this builds the resume of Berry for Executive of the Year.