Rock Bottom

It’s hard to believe that the Cleveland Browns were once the class of the National Football League. Including the Browns time in the All-American Conference, they played in a championship game in each year from 1946-1955, while they were also one of the better teams in the NFL in the 1960’s. The Browns were also a perennial playoff team in the 1980’s before things came to a screeching halt in the mid-1990’s when former team owner Art Modell decided to move the team to Baltimore, Maryland. Modell had to leave behind the team history of the Browns as his team became the Baltimore Ravens. The City of Cleveland did not have an NFL franchise from 1996-1998, but they would receive an expansion team in 1999 as they were the “new” Browns. However the Browns reincarnation into the NFL has been less than stellar.

Since 1999, the Browns have only been able to produce one trip to the postseason and two winning seasons. The Browns last winning season came in 2007, while all but one year since then has seen them lost at least 11 games. Upon returning to the National Football League, the Browns have had three different owners, eight general managers, nine head coaches, and a whopping 26 different starting quarterbacks which gives you a clear understanding in regards to their futility. Hue Jackson is the latest man to have his chance to be the Browns head coach, and he could not have envisioned how 2016 would unfold for him.

As bad as the Browns have been since returning to the National Football League, 2016 is as bad as it has been. Through 12 games the Browns are without a victory, and they are flirting with being the first team since the 2008 Detroit Lions to go an entire season without winning a game. The Browns were competitive in the first half of the season as they lost four games by five points or less. But since the calendar has shifted to November, the level of competition has improved as the Dallas Cowboys, Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New York Giants have all taken turns having their way with the Browns. Cleveland has lost their last four games by at least 14 points with this past Sunday’s home loss to the Giants sounding more like MetLife Stadium as it is difficult for a fan to stay loyal to this team.

Jackson began his tenure with the Browns by trading the second overall pick of the 2016 National Football League Draft to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Browns decided on trading this selection due to the fact that they weren’t sold on picking either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz who were the top two quarterback prospects in the draft. The Browns would continue wheeling and dealing as they moved out of the eighth overall selection after they made a deal with the Tennessee Titans. The Browns would not make a selection until midway through the first round when they tabbed wide receiver Corey Coleman, but they did succeed in obtaining multiple draft picks, which also includes multiple selections in the first, three rounds of next year’s draft. Jackson went for depth and future options for the Browns instead of opting for an immediate impact player. And although that the Browns have potential on their young squad as Jackson has attempted to change the culture in Cleveland, they still don’t know how to win.

This is best summed up by the fact that the Browns have been outscored in the second half by their opponents this season 180-67. The Browns have also squandered a pair of fourth quarter leads as they have become the poster boys for ineptitude.

In spite of the fact that the Browns have not won a game while using four different quarterbacks, they are 16th in the National Football League in total offense which is primarily due to the fact that they are attempting to pad their stats when the final outcome has already been decided.

Heading into this season Jackson announced that Robert Griffin III would be the Browns starting quarterback, but he hasn’t seen the field since the first game of the season after he suffered a shoulder injury. It was then up to veteran quarterback Josh McCown to lead the way for the Browns, but like Griffin, he suffered a shoulder injury which put him on the sideline. Jackson would then rely on a pair of rookie quarterbacks in Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan. In eight starts for the Browns, Kessler did show potential as he has completed 65.6% of his passes, but he took a beating in the process as a concussion currently has him out of action.

Going forward it will be important to provide some protection for Kessler as he appears to be their future at quarterback, while they have hit on converting Terrelle Pryor Sr., from a quarterback to a wide receiver as he provides some explosion for them at the position as he so far has 62 receptions for 855 yards and 4 touchdown grabs.

The Browns are last in the National Football League in total defense, while they are also minus-9 in the turnover margin as they don’t have any play makers on that side of the football which reflects in their record. And even though that the Browns did acquire outside linebacker Jamie Collins from the New England Patriots earlier this season, it is highly unlikely that he’ll re-sign there when he becomes a free agent in March as he’ll more than likely opt for collecting a paycheck from a team that will give him a chance to win.

The Browns enter this week guaranteed of not losing this Sunday due to the fact that it is their bye week. And with just four games left for Cleveland here in 2016, their best chance to win a game will come in Week 14 when they host the Cincinnati Bengals who are currently an injury riddled team.

But the off-season will be very important for the Browns as owner Jimmy Haslam must decide if Jackson is the right guy to run his team going forward. This season has been a struggle for Jackson, but Haslam cannot afford to start over again as the organization is already on their fifth different head coach since 2009. And to give you an idea of how astonishing that this fact is, only the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills have made as many head coaching changes since then which is illustrated by none of these teams making the postseason over this stretch; although the Bills and Raiders are in contention this year.

The Browns must give Jackson an opportunity to develop his young players as the issues within this organization are bigger than him which is reflected in their record since 1999. The Browns must decide if Kessler is their long-term answer at quarterback, while also hitting on all of their draft picks in 2017 if they want any shot at turning things. But this is the elephant in the room for the Browns as they’ve been two years from being two years away since returning to the National Football League. And at this point the only way that you know the Browns are even in the NFL is when the draft rolls around, or when the league force feeds Thursday Night Football down our throats with their mandatory participation for each team.

But for now the paper bags are out in Cleveland in droves for anyone who still thinks that it is important to show up for a Browns home game as this organization still hasn’t figured it out. And as bad as it seems, it cannot get that much worse for the Browns than it already is.

Source: Pro-football-reference.com