You’ve heard the popular football saying that, “The eye in the sky doesn’t lie.”
That’s true. What a player looks like on tape, is exactly what, and who, he is.
Here’s another football saying that you’ve seen from me on this site many, many times, “The best test is the eye test.” Indeed, your eyes – not just the ones in the sky – don’t lie.
I get all the analytics stuff, and agree that it an essential tool in determining the worth of everything in football. But nothing beats the eye test. If something, or someone, looks good, bad or in-between, that’s what it, or he, is. It’s as simple as that.
Having said that, then, here’s my eye test – what I see – when I look at the Browns as they get ready to host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sundayat FirstEnergy Stadium. I see a team that:
*Is better than its 0-3 start, but at the same time is completely deserving of it because it doesn’t do enough of the things you need to do to win.
*Has a lot of good coaches but, perhaps because of all the youth and inexperience, doesn’t always appear to be well-coached. That is both perplexing and disturbing.
*Is not ready to play when the game starts, again probably because of that youth and inexperience, and the losing in the organization in this expansion era that has permeated everything at Browns Headquarters in Berea whether the club wants to admit or not. The Browns look scared, intimidated and unprepared.
*Also can’t make enough crucial plays at the end of games to seal the deal, once more because of the youth. But when you get rid of a lot of veterans and go with a youth movement, you have to expect all these shortcomings.
*Might just have its franchise quarterback in rookie DeShone Kizer, though we can’t know that for sure for a long time.
*Will struggle to win the five or six games I predicted it would.
*Has a running back in Isaiah Crowell who can run the ball effectively but, for whatever reason, is not given enough opportunities to do so.
*Has an offensive line that is decent in run blocking but struggles mightily in pass blocking even beyond the fact Kizer still has a problem holding onto the ball too long. For all the money the Browns have invested in t this line, it should be a whole heckuva lot better.
*Doesn’t have any healthy playmaking wide receivers right now, which is a huge stumbling block in the pass-oriented NFL.
*Has a defense that, by mid-season, will be lights out if it can just stay healthy, which appears to be a big “if.” Coordinator Gregg Williams is the MVP of the club this far and was its biggest acquisition in the offseason.
*Needs more from linebacker Jamie Collins.
*Has a special player in rookie safety Jabrill Peppers.
*Has much below-average special teams play.
*Plays extremely hard – not always intelligently, but nonetheless extremely hard — from the opening kickoff to the final gun, which is the starting point for improvement.
*Will be in for another long season if it can’t beat either the Bengals and/or the horrible New York Jets in two weeks.
