It’s obvious that the Browns have a lot of problem areas position-wise.
The biggest and most important one is, of course, at quarterback. There can be no debating it. To even try to do so is foolish, ignorant, misguided and almost humorous.
It’s an issue that’s been with the Browns since they came back in 1999, and until they get it figured out, they have no chance – zero, absolutely none – to become a consistent contender and ultimately win a Super Bowl championship.
But everybody knew going into this season that the quarterback position was a major mess – the biggest one on the team — so the fact that it is so through 11 games is certainly not a surprise at all. It’s the freight train that we all saw coming for months, and now it’s here to stay with us until the bitter end. Again.
With all that have been said, then, what’s the Browns’ second-biggest problem area? Compared to what we knew – or at least what we thought we knew – heading into the season, the answer to this one is not just a surprise. Rather, it’s a total shocker. The position area to which we are referring is the offensive line.
It hasn’t been just bad this year. It’s been putrid, awful, pathetic, embarrassing and, most important, completely unacceptable.
Anchored by left tackle Joe Thomas, who is headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday, along with one of the best centers in the game in Alex Mack, a guard who was coming off a fine rookie season in Joel Bitonio and a serviceable guard in John Greco, the line was supposed to give the quarterback time to throw. But, more than that, it was supposed to open holes for a running game that would take pressure off the quarterback to make plays.
It has done neither one of those things. The line has given up 38 sacks. At this rate, it will allow 55 for the year, which would be tied with the 1984 team for the second-most in Browns history.
Josh McCown was sacked 23 times in eight games this season, or about three a contest. But he was hit after the throw on a considerable number of other occasions. At that rate, it was only a matter before his body broke down for good, and that finally happed in Monday night’s 33-27 loss to the Baltimore Ravens when he suffered a broken collarbone that will sideline him for the rest of the year.
The linemen ought to be ashamed of themselves for letting McCown getting beaten to a pulp like that week after week after week.
The running game stats are just as horrific. The Browns have gained only 819 yards and are averaging but 3.4 yards per attempt and 74.5 yards per game. For a franchise that has had four HOF running backs and five HOF linemen, that’s disgraceful.
This problem – in both regards — has to be fixed, too, because for anyone to develop into a franchise quarterback for the Browns, he’s going to have to be protected and also have a running game good enough to keep defenses honest. As it is now, opponents don’t respect the rushing attack – and why should they? – so they just pin their ears back and tee off on the quarterback.
Johnny Manziel and Austin Davis have that to look forward to over these last five games.
They’re both anxious to play and show the Browns and whomever else might be interested in them in coming years what they can do, but for them to survive, they’ll need to have their head on a swivel. It’s hard for a quarterback to be productive, which requires looking over the field to find open receivers, when he’s also looking for who might be bearing down on him.
