Celebrations, Defense and Browns MVP Candidates

Browns gameday information

Posted By: County Sports Network October 9, 2020

Celebrations, Defense and Browns MVP Candidates

There is the 24-hour rule in the NFL, which states that teams and their players and coaches have a full day to celebrate a win or commiserate over a loss once the game is ended. Then after that, it’s on to the next game.
For the Browns this week, it should have been a 12- or even eight-hour rule. That’s because the Browns, despite their rousing and impressive 49-38 win over the Cowboys at Dallas last Sunday, have no time for much merrymaking this week. Their upcoming schedule will not allow it.
With the win, the Browns, now 3-1 and with a three-game winning streak, have soared up the charts in all NFL power rankings, including that of Albert Breer on Sports Illustrated. They are 13th, being in the top half of the league for the first time this late into the season in who knows how long. That’s the good — no, make that great — news.

But the bad — or at least worrisome or concerning — news is that the Browns’ next two opponents are ranked quite a bit ahead of them.
The Indianapolis Colts, who visit FirstEnergy Stadium late Sunday afternoon and also have a 3-1 record, are four spots ahead of the Browns at No. 9. The AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0), who host the Browns the following Sunday at the House of Horrors known as Heinz Field, are thought to be one of the NFL’s elite, as evidenced by the fact they are No. 5.

You’ve got to beat the best to be the best, and so the Browns will have that opportunity in these two games. Can they do it? Yes, they can. They are certainly capable of that. Will they? That’s hard to say. They still have a lot of things to clean up, so they need to forget about the euphoria in Dallas and try to generate more of the same in Cleveland against the Colts, whose defense is so far superior to that of the Cowboys that it might well be the best in the NFL.

Defense playing just as poorly as advertised 10-9-20

When you win, it’s easy to look past all the issues, even the biggest ones.

That’s where the Browns are at now following their 49-38 dismantling of the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday.

They have won three — yes, three, count ’em, three — games in a row and have improved their record to 3-1 for the first time since seemingly the Stone Age. And because of that, the focus has been taken off the fact that their defense has been terrible, and that’s being kind. They might have the best defensive player in the NFL through four weeks in end Myles Garrett, but their other defenders are playing like Miles Standish. If you don’t know who that is, then buck up on your history and Google it.

But all kidding aside, they have to get better — much, much better, a whole heckuva lot better – on defense or their chances to do some really great things this season will never materialize. Yes, it’s true that the NFL game — really, football at all levels — is driven by offense. That’s what the fans want to see, and as such every rule change in the last 40 years has been made to take something away from the defense and give it to the offense.

You can’t really stop offenses on a consistent basis anymore. You can hope only to slow them down. But the Browns aren’t even doing that, as evidenced by the fact they have allowed 126 points, which ties them with the Houston Texans for the second-highest total in the AFC. They have permitted two more points than they’ve scored.

The Browns were concerned about their defense coming into the season, and those fears were obviously warranted considering what has happened. The Cowboys’ Dak Prescott passed for a whopping 501 yards against the Browns, which has their remaining opposing quarterbacks licking their chops.

The line on Browns MVP candidates 10-10-20

The MVP of the Browns thus far?
With the team having won three in a row, including an impressive 49-38 decision at Dallas last Sunday, to improve to 3-1 for the first time in 19 years, there are obviously plenty of candidates
Defensive end Myles Garrett has been a terror. There are many who believe he has been the best defensive player in the NFL thus far, and might be on track to being the league’s Defensive Player of the Year when it’s all said and done.

Wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr., who had three touchdowns against the Cowboys, and Jarvis Landry, who passed to his friend for one of those scores, have been outstanding.
Until he hurt his knee last Sunday, Nick Chubb was entrenching himself as the second-best running back in the league.
Then there’s Baker Mayfield. In his supposedly prove-it season, he has been one of the better quarterbacks around, having made few errors. A team can’t win without a good quarterback, which is why the Browns are now winning.
But if I had to choose a Browns MVP for the first quarter of the season, it wouldn’t be a player. Rather, the nod would go to offensive line coach Bill Callahan.
Yes, that’s right, an assistant coach.
Callahan has done an outstanding job. There’s no doubt about it. What was one of the club’s weak points — if not THE weakest — last season has now become arguably the strength of the team. No, on second thought, it is not arguably the strength of the Browns. It is definitely their strength, and if there’s one area other than quarterback where a team wants to — and needs to — be strong, it’s the offensive line.
The Browns have been running the ball on everybody — they put up over 300 yards on the Cowboys even though Chubb was lost for much of the game — and the pass protection has been stellar. It helps the offense so much to be able to do that, to control the line of scrimmage and open holes. And whereas last season Mayfield was constantly under duress, he has had a wall built around him. He has time to throw.
Along with that, rookie left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. is getting rave reviews around the league. He is playing like a first-round pick in the NFL Draft.
All of that traces back to Callahan, who came to Cleveland with a great reputation and has more than lived up to it.
If this keeps up, then a good if not great season for the Browns is a real possibility.

Check out The RunDown for more on Celebrations, Defense and Browns MVP Candidates

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