Podcast 1/3/18: On College Bowl Games, Browns Offseason, NFL Playoffs & Coaching Moves and Movies Of 2018

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

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Browns Preview 12/8/17: Green Bay Packers @ Cleveland Browns

By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE

The 6-6, Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay Packers travel to Cleveland this week to take on the 0-12 Browns. If at the beginning of the season someone told you the Packers would be 6-6, the Browns were winless but still had a chance no one would have believed you. Its also been a fun Thursday as a Browns fan, Sashi Brown was fired and Hue Jackson will remain the Head Coach in 2018. *insert Mike Polk "Fun times in Cleveland Again". But on to actual game...


Browns Offense vs Packers Defense

I know this is crazy to say but the Browns might be able to put up some points against the Packers defense. Their passing defense isn't that good, and DeShone Kizer could actually throw an accurate pass to Josh Gordon we could see Gordon go for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Again, I know it sounds nuts, but what Gordon did last week against Casey Hayward isn't really anything to take lightly. The guy shut down all the other top receivers he's gone up against this year and is ranked as the top cornerback this year. Gordon against a struggling Packers secondary screams Kizer's first 300 yard game.

The running game needs to keep on keeping on. And that means Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson, and DeShone Kizer. Last week they had just under 100 yards against a really tough defense in the Chargers. Now the Packers run defense is better than their pass defense because of Mike Daniels and Blake Martinez. If the Browns can get a lead and use the run game to win the time of possession it could be a recipe for success.



Browns Defense vs Packers Offense

The Packers will have to start Brett Hundley for one more week. With the help of two defensive touchdowns last week the Packers beat the Buccaneers 26-20 in overtime. In that game Hundley threw for 84 yards and threw one pick. Its fairly obvious that Green Bay misses Rodgers. The key for the Browns this game is to let Hundley beat you with his arm. He's thrown for only five touchdowns in the eight games he's played. And he's also prone to turnovers, throwing eight picks and fumbling three times.

The Browns should key in on stopping the run this week. The Packers have a running back by committee with Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones as their leading rushers. The Browns also can't forget about Hundley scrambling out of the pocket. He has good speed and ran for 66 yards last week in the overtime win.



Five Guys To Watch

1. Josh Gordon: In his first game in almost three seasons Gordon went for four catches for 85 yards. He also went up against the best corner in the league. It should be exciting to see how he plays against a struggling secondary.

2. DeShone Kizer: If it weren't for Kizer the Browns probably would have won last week. Multiple terrible throws to a wide open Josh Gordon and a sack-fumble in the redzone. That's exactly why we lost. But Sunday is another chance to redeem himself.

3. David Njoku: Njoku had a career game last week. Four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Hopefully this means we get to see Njoku on the field more.

4. Joe Schobert: In a game where the Browns need to stop the run Schobert seems like an obvious pick for a guy to watch.

5. Hue Jackson: Let's be 100%...Hue Jackson won the power struggle against Sashi Brown. And with that he has security for 2018.  I'm curious if Jackson starts to change up his playcalling knowing his job is safe going forward. I expect him to go into his bag of tricks this week and have a good game overall.

Injury Report:

Weather Report:

Betting Line (As of 12/7/17)
Packers -3


Prediction:
Browns 24 Packers 14

I know, I'm crazy for picking the Browns but with everything that's happened this week it seems like a game the Browns could accidentally win...the stars are lining up. The Packers are struggling on defense, they don't have Aaron Rodgers, and the Browns have Josh Gordon and a head coach who really doesn't have any pressure on him to win a game since 2018 is already guaranteed.

Cleveland Browns 2017 Season Preview: Quarterbacks

By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE

**PREVIOUS**
The Coaching Staff
The Running Backs
Offensive & Defensive Line

On Wednesday Head Coach Hue Jackson announced that rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer will start the the third preseason game and that "he (Kizer) is certainly positioning himself well to earn the starting job." So it looks like its going to be Kizer's team in week one...So what should we as fans expect from the quarterback position in 2017?

First things first, DeShone Kizer is a rookie and is the youngest quarterback in the NFL this season. And I think that's important to note before we all go crazy with expectations.

This team was built to handle a rookie quarterback. The Browns went into the off-season and rebuilt their offensive line with the signing of J.C. Tretter and Kevin Zeitler. Last year, the Browns gave up the most sacks in the league. Some of it was on the quarterbacks but a lot of it was because of the struggles of the offensive line. With the rebuild of the offensive line the Browns will be a run heavy team with Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson, and Matt Dayes.

Those two factors will take a majority of the pressure off of Kizer. He won't have to throw the ball 30 times a game to win. And its not like Kizer isn't going to make rookie mistakes, like we seen in the first two weeks of the preseason. Whether its poor decision making, fumbling the snap under center, or not sliding on scrambles these are all teachable moments. The way we judge Kizer shouldn't be wins and losses, but how he grows week-to-week into a more comfortable NFL quarterback.

DeShone Kizer gives the Browns the best opportunity to win games this season. Kizer's arm strength will keep defenses honest with the deep ball and prevent teams from stacking the line of scrimmage which will only help the running game. Kizer also has an ability to run the ball. He was a solid runner at Notre Dame and with his 6'4 235 frame gives the Browns another running threat in short yardage and red zone situations.

Its exciting to see a rookie quarterback start from day one, something we haven't seen since Brandon Weeden in 2012. Kizer earned this opportunity to start week one and has worked his way up from third string quarterback in the first week of the preseason to first string in the third week.

If Cody Kessler plays in 2017 it means Kizer got hurt. Its that simple. We know what we have in Kessler. He can come in, manage a game, and that's about it. He's not gonna make the big play but he's also not gonna make the big mistake.

Brock Osweiler's tenure with the Browns might be coming to an end real soon. He was given an opportunity to grab the starting job and he failed. If he's not traded by the end of the preseason I expect Brock to be released when the Browns cut down the roster to 53.

Krunch Time With Katelin: 5 Takeaways From The Browns First Preseason Game

By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE


The Cleveland Browns defeated the Saints 20-14 in the first week of the preseason. Rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer played the entire second half and lead the team to a win with a 45 yards touchdown pass to take the lead with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter. The game was an up-and-down game for the Browns. They committed 12 penalties most of them being either false starts or because of being lined up offsides. With that being said here are five thing that stood out to me in the game against the Saints.

1. Myles Garrett looks the part as the consensus number one overall pick. Garrett got into the backfield a number of times. Both in passing and run stopping situations. But what was most impressive about Garrett was when he chased down the Saints running back 15 yards down field after he broke a tackle. That was the play that sticks out most to me. Garrett's hustle and speed to run all the way down field to help force the running back out of bounds is exactly why this defense will be vastly improved.

2. The defense causing two turnovers. Both were forced fumbles because the defensive linemen swatted at the ball when attacking the quarterback. If the Browns are going to win games this year this is exactly what they need to do. Give the offense a short field to work with and then capitalizing on it. Which they did, the first fumble recovery ended with a touchdown run from Matt Dayes. And the second was the game clincher with 17 second left.

3. Cam Erving isn't good. Its that simple. At this point I don't know if he will even make the team. The guy tries and gives 100% effort on every play, but at some point the Browns will have to give up on Erving. The tape shows that he looks lost out on the field and the amount of times he gets manhandled on the line is concerning. Yes, he'd be another first round bust for the Browns but at this point I don't think fans care much about that.

Who's ready for some Brock Osweiler?!! pic.twitter.com/48yy2Zv2QO

— Ryan McCrystal (@Ryan_McCrystal) August 11, 2017

4. Brock Osweiler didn't play well statistically. 6/14 for 42 yards. But there were some issues with the Browns receivers though. Kenny Britt had some issues in the red zone. Brock threw a great pass into the corner of the end zone but Britt couldn't get his second foot in for the touchdown. Osweiler also had a nice pass to receiver Ricardo Lewis down the seam but Lewis broke in from his route and the pass sailed incomplete. Brock also had a couple of miss throws. One to Seth DeValve which he just missed him for a touchdown, and on a third and long were Brock took a shot down field but threw the ball out of bounds. Overall I think Brock did okay. He seems to have a nice command of the offense and will probably start next against the Giants but he didn't do anything that would give him a commanding lead in the quarterback competition.

5. I know it was only one game and it was against the Saints second-fourth team, but DeShone Kizer made a nice name for himself last night. He lead the Browns to victory and did a nice job moving the ball down the field. Kizer still has a lot to learn. He was sacked three times and each time it seemed like he held onto the ball way to long. Without a doubt Kizer has the best "arm talent" on this team, as we seen on both of his deep balls and he already has shown an ability to step up into the pocket and throw. It will be interesting to see what Hue Jackson does with Kizer for the game against the Giants. I don't think he'd start Kizer but I do think Coach Hue wants to play Kizer with/against better talent.

.@DKizer_14 going DEEEEEEP.

Got 'em. #NOvsCLE pic.twitter.com/062xVHQg5g

— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2017

Cleveland Browns 2017 Season Preview: The Coaching Staff

By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE


The 2017 Cleveland Browns preview. Where to begin? Well the best place to start is at the top, which is the coaching staff. A coaching staff that went through some changes during the off-season, of course. What kind of an off-season would it be without some type of coaching change, but unlike years before these changes seem to have already paid off and might have jolted this rebuild.


Head Coach/Offense: Hue Jackson. Jackson is entering his second season with the Browns, as we all know. Last season's 1-15 record doesn't do him justice. He basically did all he could. Multiple injuries at key positions, quarterback, offensive line, and receiver, didn't truly allow him to call the type of games he wanted too. Going into the 2017 season the Browns are expected to be a run heavy team.

They committed a lot of money to the offensive line this season and brought in a new offensive line coach Bob Wylie. Wylie brings almost 40 years of coaching experience from the NFL, College, and the Canadian Football League. He's familiar with Coach Jackson, serving as his offensive line coach in 2011 when Jackson was Head Coach of the Raiders.

Along with Wylie, the Browns brought in David Lee to coach the quarterbacks. Last year's QB coach Pep Hamilton left the Browns to take the offensive coordinator position at the University of Michigan. Lee also bring in a ton of experience to the staff. Lee's been a coach in College and the NFL for over 40 years.

He's coached up guys like Drew Bledsoe, Chad Pennington and was part of the Buffalo Bills the past two seasons, and helped mold Tyrod Taylor into a legitimate starting quarterback in the NFL. Outside of those two changes the Browns offensive staff remained the same. Al Saunders is still the Sr. offensive assistant/wide receivers coach, Kirby Wilson stayed as running backs coach/running game coordinator, and Greg Seamon remained as the tight ends coach.




Overall Offensive Outlook: The Browns will be a ground and pound football team this season. No matter who's taking the snaps behind center. Its not crazy to predict guys like Isaiah Crowell to have monster years. Plus, with a vastly improved defense the Browns should be able to "Feed the Crow" and protect the quarterback from games where they must throw the ball over 30-35 times.

Defensive Coaches: The defensive side of the ball is headlined by new Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams. Gregg Williams comes to Cleveland as arguably the best defensive coordinator in the League. He's coached five top five defenses in the league, won a super bowl with the New Orleans Saints in 2009. Yes, he was part of bounty-gate but don't ask him about it...The last three seasons he was with the Rams, and helped them rank in the top 10 in defense during his tenure. Everywhere Williams goes the defense improves, and Cleveland shouldn't be any different. Williams is known for running a 4-3 base defense but he's all about playing to his players strengths. So we should see him using multiple fronts and a bunch of different combinations in the secondary. Williams brought in an entire new staff with him to Cleveland, headlined by two time All-Pro defensive end Clyde Simmons.

Simmons played in the NFL for 15 years and finished his career ranked top 20 in career sacks. He's spent the past five seasons with the Rams as an assistant defensive line coach. Simmons has helped coach up star defensive linemen like Robert Quinn, Aaron Donald, and Chris Long. Simmons is here to do the same thing. Help with the development Myles Garrett, Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Nassib, and many others as true defensive pass rushers with four down linemen.

The secondary is coached by DeWayne Walker. This is Walker's fourth NFL team, where he's coached the secondary. Walker coached the secondary under Gregg Williams back in 2004-2005 with the Washington Redskins. He spent the last four season with Jacksonville helping to develop guys like Johnathan Cyprien, Jalen Ramsey, Josh Evans, and Davone House. With the Browns, Walker will work with young guys like Derrick Kindred, Jabrill Peppers, and Briean Bobby Calhoun just like he did in Jacksonville.

Last, but not least, the linebackers are coached by Blake Williams...Gregg Williams' son. Blake was the defensive coordinator the Rams in 2012 and has spent the last few years as defensive coordinator in college. From 2013-2014 he was the DC for William Jewell College and in 2015 was the DC for Southeastern Louisiana. The Linebacker room for the Browns is one of the strengths of this team. Lead by Jamie Collins and Christian Kirksey. Both will be playing a ton of snaps in many different types of sets and positions.


Overall Defensive Outlook: The defense is projecting to be the most improved area on this team. For many seasons it been our Achilles heel. The lack of run defense has forced the offense into becoming one dimensional. If the defense can force timely turnovers and keep deficits manageable, it would be hard to see how this team won't be one of the most improved teams in the NFL. But it starts on the defensive side of the ball.

Special Teams: Its not a Cleveland Browns' coaching staff without Chris Tabor as the Special Teams coach. He's been with the Browns since 2011 and has coached some of the best special teams players in recent history (Josh Cribbs and Phil Dawson). The last few seasons though the Browns have struggled. An inconsistent kicking game and a return game that hasn't recovered from Cribbs absences and newer rule of kicking off at the 35 yard line. But this year should be different. Both the punt and kick return game have new faces. Mario Alford was brought in late last season to return kicks and immediately made a difference. Along with Alford, Jabrill Peppers will see some time at punt returns which is one of the many things he excelled at in college. And with the inconsistent kicking game the Browns drafted Zane Gonzalez out of Arizona State in the seventh round to come in a compete with Cody Parkey.

Krunch Time With Katelin: Five Stories and Thoughts from the 2016 Cleveland Browns

By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE

2016 was tough year for the Browns. A number of different quarterbacks, a ton of injuries, and the lack of wins resulting in the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. We knew this past season was going to be rough and the start of a tear-down rebuild, but not many expected the Browns to end up 1-15 at seasons end. With 1-15 there aren't a lot of stories to tell but here are five stories that will help recap this 2016 season.

5. Let's start with the number of quarterbacks this past season. Not counting Terrelle Pryor and Duke Johnson who threw passes this season, the Browns had five different quarterbacks lineup under center for them. Cody Kessler, Josh McCown, and Robert Griffin III started this past season with Kevin Hogan and Charlie Whitehurst taking snaps in relief of Cody Kessler. The quarterback problems started week one when RGIII broke a bone in his shoulder. Then, in week two, McCown ended up breaking his collar bone which sidelined him for a month and a half. Cody Kessler didn't play terrible for a rookie quarterback but he didn't do enough to keep the job for the entire season. RGIII ended up started the last four weeks and didn't help solidify anything for the 2017 season.

4. Jamie Collins, one of the best linebackers in the NFL, got traded from the New England Patriots to Cleveland. The Browns gave up a third round pick for his services. After the Browns traded for Collins it was weird to see on the field. Everyone could tell how good he was and at some points he seemed frustrated with the lack of talent around him. It was also weird to hear the speculation of why Collins was traded out of New England. Whether it was locker room stuff or him being a free agent in 2017...it will hopefully help the Browns going forward.

3. Even though the year was tough a number of players stepped up and made a giant leap. Guys like Christian Kirksey, Jamar Taylor, Danny Shelton and Isaiah Crowell improved immensely because of the opportunity given. Danny Shelton played like a top tier nose tackle. He was constantly disrupting the flow of the opposing offensive line even if statistically the Browns defense didn't play well. Christian Kirksey ranked 6th in total tackles with 143. The past two years he was spelling Karlos Dansby but this year he was all over and was a three down player. He improved on his run defense and has always been a solid in pass coverage. Jamar Taylor was traded to Cleveland from Miami for a handful of spots...in the seventh round of the 2016 draft.

Taylor was a former second round pick who seemed to be a bust for Miami. For his growth this past season the Browns ended up rewarding him with a 3yr/$15 million extension. And finally Isaiah Crowell...who ended up 48 rushing yards short of 1000 for the season. The First few weeks of the season Crowell was lighting it up and was in the top 5 in rushing yards. Because of injuries at offensive line Crowell's 1000 yard season dream came up short, but it was positive in the sense of how the Browns found their starting running back going forward.

2. Terrelle Pryor's transition from quarterback to wide receiver was amazing to see...even if former and opposing players criticized him for being emotional on the field. Its not that people didn't think he could do it, he's a freak athlete, but if he was going to become selfish and become a "diva" on and off the field. While off the field some took their shots at him on the field he played extremely well. 77 catches 1007 yards and four touchdowns in his first full season at receiver is pretty dang good. Hell fans wanted the Browns to sign Pryor to an extension after his crazy game in Miami where he caught eight passes for 144 yards, ran for 21 yards and a touchdown...and threw the ball for 35 yards on 3/5 passing. It will be interesting to see if Pryor has a future in the Browns and Orange but even if he doesn't he was one of (if not the main reason) people still tuned in on Sundays to watch the Browns.

1. The Browns only winning one game this season has to be the number one story. Whether it was speculation Hue Jackson and company were going to get fired at the end of the season...which turned out to be kinda true. Or the number of odd ways the Browns found themselves on the short end of the win column. Like when The Browns stormed to a 20-2 lead against the Ravens and ended up losing 25-20 because of a blocked PAT that was returned for a touchdown and a missed field goal. (and lets not forget about the stupid flag on Terrelle Pryor when he went to give the official the ball) Or when Cody Parkey missed three field goals in one game including a potential game winner, And the Duke Johnson fumble that he obviously recovered but the lady official completely messed up calling a Redskins recovery when Johnson had the ball five yards behind her. And that all happened in consecutive weeks...And the 0-16 parade which divided Browns fans on many social media platforms. Heck, it ended up having one of Cleveland's top radio personalities threatening to run over people who were participating in the parade.(I guess anything for ratings). But All in all the Browns won a game and ten's of thousands of dollars were donated to the Cleveland Food Bank because of the fan funded 0-16 parade and the contributions from the Cleveland Browns and others.

This season was a trip. Remembering all these stories and seeing how social media was during this headache of a season was something to remember...if people didn't pay that close of attention because of the Indians playoff success or the Ohio State University during their thing on Saturday's. But the "try-out year" as I coined in my season preview was a success. I think the Browns have a good idea of were their weaknesses are and now have the tools to fix this team the correct way. And that starts with making smart signing during free agency with the large amount of cap room they have and the number one overall pick in April's draft.  

Radio Show 1/4/17: On Browns Future, NFL Playoffs, CFB Playoff & More

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

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Browns Recap 1/2/17: Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers

By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE

The Browns fell to the Steelers 27-24 and finished the 2016 season going 1-15 and locking up the number one overall pick in the 2017 draft. Also Hue Jackson and company are safe and will be back next year. So another win coming from today. But lets talk about this very odd game.

The Browns offense was statistically pretty good.  437 Total yards with about 200 yards through the air and on the ground. But where the Browns lost this game was in the turnover battle. The Browns had four turnovers (three fumbles and two red zone turnovers) and also missed a 49 yard field goal. So its not like the Browns didn't have opportunities to win this game. Robert Griffin threw for 232 yards on 29/40 passing, two touchdowns and one interception. The leading receiver for this game was Terrelle Pryor who caught seven passes for 94 yards. He also surpassed 1000 receiving yards for the year with his 94 yard game. Gary Barnidge had five catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. Seth DeValve had the other touchdown catch, which was his only catch of the day for 12 yards.

Other notable receivers: Corey Coleman had five catches for 40 yards and Andrew Hawkins had five catches for nine yards.

The Running game had success today. Isaiah Crowell 152 yards on 19 carries including 67 yard run that set up a George Atkinson III touchdown run. Atkinson III had a solid day, seven carries for 34 yards, being the backup to Crowell with Duke Johnson suffering an ankle injury. Crowell unfortunately had a key fumble inside the five yard-line with less than one minute to go in the fourth. RGIII had 32 rushing yards on five carries.

The Browns defense was solid against the second string Steelers offense. They only gave up 69 yards on the ground. The Steelers leading rusher was DeAngelo Williams who had 67 yards on 23 carries. But the Browns struggled getting timely stops. They gave up the winning touchdown drive in overtime after the offense kicked a field goal forcing Steelers to score. The Defense also gave up a touchdown drive to end the first half and after the Browns intercepted Landry Jones but fumbled the return causing a touchback.

Jones had a pretty good game, throwing for 277 yards and three touchdowns. Eli Rodgers was the leading receiver with six catches 61 yards. Cobi Hamilton had three catches for 54 yards including the game clinching 26 yard touchdown catch. Other notable receivers: Demarcus Ayers had five catches for 44 yards and one touchdown.

The leading tackler for the Browns was Christian Kirksey who had 12 total tackles, three tackles for a loss and one sack. Jamie Collins was second with 10 total tackles. And Demario Davis had seven total tackles, two for losses and one sack.


Most Valuable Brown: Isaiah Crowell is the MVB for this game. If it wasn't for his 67 yard run the Browns wouldn't have had the opportunity to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Plus his day kind of personified this 2016 season. Play really well at times but mistakes come back to cost games.

Browns Preview 12.30.16: Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers

By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE

The (1-15) Cleveland Browns travel to Pittsburgh to take on the (10-5) Steelers. This is going to be a weird game for a few reasons. First off, the Steelers are expected to sit Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown this week since they already clinched the third seed in the AFC playoff standings. On the other hand if the Browns lose this week, they will clinch the 1st overall pick for the first time since 2000.


Browns Offense vs Steelers Defense

It sounds like Robert Griffin III will start this week, since he was cleared to be taken out of Concussion protocol. If Griffin doesn't start, Cody Kessler will start in place of him. Another a few other shifts on the offensive line. Jonathan Cooper was released this week and Alvin Bailey was activated off of the suspension list and will start this week. Cam Erving will shift over to right tackle in place of Austin Pasztor and either Anthony Fabiano or Gabe Ikard will start at center this week.

The game plan this week should be the same as the past few weeks with Griffin at quarterback. Use Griffin's legs to set up the zone-read running game for Isaiah Crowell. The Browns should run the ball a lot to the right to test Cam Erving at right tackle. It will be interesting to see if the Browns active Darius Jackson this week. Jackson was claimed a few weeks ago from Dallas and has yet to be activated for a game.

The passing game should be the same also. Take some shots down field to keep the defense honest, but overall just take what the defense gives Griffin. Corey Coleman should get a lot of targets since Terrelle Pryor is still banged up. Duke Johnson should get his normal touches out of the backfield in the check down game.


Browns Defense vs Steelers Offense

Landry Jones will be starting this week for the Steelers. He has a career record of 1-2. And the one win was against the Browns last year when he got hurt and Big Ben replaced him. DeAngelo Williams will start and get the bulk of the carries with Bell out.

The Steelers should play conservatively. They don't want anyone to get hurt this game, whether its a backup or a starting offensive lineman. So heavy running, winning the time of possession, and limiting turnovers is going to be their game plan for this week,

The Browns will need to force a turnover or two to be able to pull out this game. And to do that they need to get pressure on Jones. Jamar Taylor should get multiple opportunities to make a play this.  On the run defense side, Shelton needs to set the tone at the line of scrimmage since DeAngelo Williams will get the start and many carries.


Five Guys to Watch

Cam Erving: Cam's is getting his first start at right tackle and it sounds like he could be the right tackle in 2017.

Robert Griffin III: This could be his last start in a Browns uniform. The Browns will need to make a decision about him this off-season and depending how things go, Griffin could be out of the NFL.

Isaiah Crowell: It will be interesting to see how the running game will play with a new look offensive line. Crowell is 200 yards away from 1000 for the season. Yes it seems unlikely but hey...its something to watch out for.

Emmanual Ogbah: Ogbah will need to get to the quarterback this week. Hopefully Ogbah can close out this year on a high note. He's played really well since moving to the defensive line.

Danny Shelton: The Steelers are going to run the ball with Williams a lot this week. Shelton is an easy pick this week. He needs to set the line of scrimmage and can't let the Steelers running game get into a rhythm.


Injury Report
Weather
Betting Line: Pittsburgh -6


Prediction: 24-17 Steelers

Don't worry Browns fans, they clinch the number one overall pick and draft talk can begin next week. The only good thing about this week 17 is that no changes should be made on "Black Monday". The Browns didn't go 1-15, aren't firing coaches, and clinched the number one overall pick...I'd say that a fairly successful "try-out" year.

Browns Recap 12.25.16: San Diego Chargers @ Cleveland Browns

By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE

THE CLEVELAND BROWNS FINALLY WON A GAME!!!! I REPEAT, THE BROWNS WON A GAME!!!! They pulled out a 20-17 victory against the Chargers. The Chargers totally "Charger'd" the game away and it was incredible.

The Browns played well enough to win this game even though they got out-gained by 105 yards (356-251). But the Browns won three key facets of this game; time of possession, penalties, and the turnover margin. The Browns won the possession game 32:29 to 27:31 mins. The Browns only committed four penalties while the Chargers committed nine penalties (three on the first drive which set up a Browns touchdown). And Jamar Taylor picked off Philip Rivers' pass for the only turnover in the game and the Browns capitalized on it a scored a field goal.

The Browns passing offense was hit or miss all day. RGIII threw for 164 yards on 17/25 attempts. Unfortunately, the offensive line struggled in pass protection, allowing 9 sacks for 48 yards, one of which caused RGIII to leave the game with a concussion. Gary Barnidge was the Browns leading receiver with five catches 42 yards. Terrelle Pryor had three catches for 36 yards and Corey Coleman had two catches for 15 yards including a nine yard slant route which extended the Browns last drive.

The Browns running game was headlined by Isaiah Crowell who ran for 54 yards on 16 attempts and two touchdowns. RGIII ran for 42 yards on 6 attempts and Duke Johnson had 28 yards on seven attempts. The Browns running game helped the Browns win the time of possession game.

The Browns defense did just enough to win this game. Rivers threw for 322 yards on 23/46 attempts, two touchdowns and one interception. The Chargers leading receivers were Antonio Gates with eight catches for 94 yards and one touchdown and former Brown Travis Benjamin who caught for three passes for 75 yards. Jamar Taylor (who was on of my five guys to watch) had one interception and three pass defections.

The Browns run defense completely shut down the Chargers running game. Kenneth Farrow was the Chargers leading rusher with 28 yards on 9 carries. And the Browns only gave up 34 yards total on 19 attempts. The Browns leading tackler was Christian Kirksey with 10 total tackles. Ed Reynolds had seven tackles and two hits on the quarterback.

The unsung heroes of the game was the Browns special teams. Returner Mario Alfred averaged 28 yards per kick return and defensive lineman Jamie Meder came up clutch and blocked a game-tying field goal attempt with just over three mins left in the fourth quarter.

Most Valuable Brown: Hue Jackson wins the award for this week. After a long season and losing 14 straight games the Browns finally pull out a win. This team never quit on him and you can see the emotion from Hue Jackson's post game speech. The record doesn't show it but he has this team believing in themselves and they believe in him.

"This one's for you."

Hue Jackson's emotional victory speech #SDvsCLE pic.twitter.com/9RWBAeiL6Q

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 24, 2016

Browns Recap 11.28.16: New York Giants @ Cleveland Browns

By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE


The Cleveland Browns are now 0-12 after losing to the Giants 27-13. This game was an odd game. The defense played well for most of the game but seemed to have run out of gas at the end.  But the offense struggled all game only managing 13 points, turning the ball over three times and allowing Josh McCown to be sacked seven times.


Browns Offense

The Browns out-gained the Giants 343 yards to 296 and won the time of possession by almost eight minutes, but the three turnovers really hurt the Browns. Two of the three turnovers resulted in touchdowns for the Giants including a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Jason Pierre-Paul.

Josh McCown played like he usually does. Keeps the team in the game but makes a mistake at an important moment. McCown was 25/43 for 322 yards, a touchdown, and two fumbles (including the one that was returned for a score.) That fumble was a rally killer considering a few plays before that McCown found Terrelle Pryor deep for 54 yards.

The running game was held to 58 yards on 21 carries. Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson couldn't get anything going, both only averaged 2.8 yards per carry. But both did play well in the passing game. Crowell had six catches for 47 yards and Johnson had three catches for 26 yards. *Crowell had a fumble which resulted in the other score. That was Crowell's first fumble since 2014.

The passing game was average. It seemed like the Browns wideouts couldn't get separation for the Giants DBs. Terrelle Pryor was the Browns leading receiver with six catches for 131 yards. *Pryor's third 100+ yards game this year. Also first Browns player to have five + catches in five straight games since Kevin Johnson.  Outside of Pryor the passing game was headlined by rookies. Corey Coleman and Seth DeValve had three catches each. And one of Coleman's receptions was a 21-yard catch for a touchdown. Rashard "Hollywood" Higgins caught two passes for 34 yards.

The offense struggled but it was nice to see the rookies play well and show some growth. Terrelle Pryor was the offensive MVP for the Browns today. The guy show a will to win and does as much as he can to keep this team in games offensively.


Defense

The defense didn't play bad but they couldn't force any turnovers. (The one turnover by the Giants was on special teams) Eli Manning only threw for 194 yards on 15/27 passing, but he did throw three touchdowns. Two of them were to Odell Beckham Jr. who had six catches for 96 yards. Outside of Beckham the Giants leading receiver was Victor Cruz who had a catch for 37 yards. Three guys had two catches each which was is tied for the team lead.  The Giants running game was solid totaling 104 yards on 27 carries. Rashad Jennings was the leading rusher with 55 yards on 15 rushes.

Today the young guys showed up for the Browns, not just on offense but defensively too. Christian Kirksey was all over the field racking up 11 tackles including one tackle for a loss. Briean Boddy-Calhoun played extremely well too. Matching up against Victor Cruz and Rodger Lewis most of the game. Boddy-Calhoun had four tackles including one for a loss and two pass deflections. Danny Shelton is another young defensive player who played extremely well. He set the line of scrimmage really well, played the run game well, and overall set a great tone for this game.

Special Teams got lucky twice. Beckham Jr. had two punt returns returned for big yardage, including one that was returned for a touchdown, but they were cancelled out by flags on the play. Other than that the coverage team didn't play that well. Yes, they recovered a fumble but it was because of the returner Bobby Rainey.


Overall Thoughts

The Browns played well enough to win this game but they came up just short, once again. It will be interesting to see how they play when Robert Griffin III gets back under center. But the rookies and young guys played really well and it should be something they can build upon going into the bye-week and the stretch run.

Most Valuable Brown: Two players get the MVB this week. Terrelle Pryor and Christian Kirksey. Both have shown immense growth from the beginning of the year and this game showed off their growth. Kirksey with 11 tackles and Pryor with his third 100+ yard game of the year. Both are making an argument to be named pro-bowlers at their respected positions.

Browns Preview 11.18.16: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns

By Katelin Marshall, @KatelinKnowsCLE

The (4-5) Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Cleveland to take on the (0-10) Browns. The Browns are coming off an interesting game against the Ravens where rookie starting quarterback Cody Kessler was benched in the second half  while leading 7-6. Then Josh McCown took over and the Browns ended up losing 28-7. The Steelers lost to the Cowboys last week 35-30 in a shootout. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns in that game. But the deciding factor of this game was the Steelers going 0/4 on two point conversion attempts.


Browns Offense vs Steelers Defense

Cody Kessler will be starting this week with an opportunity to show he's improved enough to be the starter long-term. Kessler will need to prove he can throw the ball down field to help out the running game and the intermediate passing game. Kessler's stats aren't bad. He's thrown six touchdowns and only one interception (which was back in week four). Kessler has a high completion percentage 66.9% but only 7 yards per attempt. The Steelers defense gives up about 278 yards threw the air. Their secondary is headlined by William Gay...yes William Gay is still in the league. They have first round pick Artie Burns as their nickel corner and former Browns first round pick Justin Gilbert as a sub-package corner.  With all that being said Corey Coleman and Terrelle Pryor should have a good day Sunday. Pryor is a matchup nightmare for the Steelers, whether its down the field or in intermediate yardage. But its up to Kessler to take advantage of Pryor and Coleman.

The running game just needs to keep the Steelers honest. Its not like the Browns are going to run for 120 yards but if they can get 85-100 total yards on the ground then it should keep the Browns in third and manageable. The Steelers give up about 102 yards on the ground per game with ranks 15th in the NFL. But with the loss of Cameron Heyward the Steelers will need to adjust and the Browns need to take advantage of the lack of Heyward...both in the running game and pass protection.

The offensive line of the Browns will dictate how this game goes. Cam Erving and Spencer Drango are the most important, Erving and Drango have to keep the pocket clean for Kessler to be able to throw the ball down field like Hue Jackson wants. Yes, Kessler needs to get the ball out quicker but we've seen Erving...he might be the worst player in the NFL and Drango is still a rookie.  But if the Browns can win in the trenches then the Browns have an opportunity to at the very least cover the betting spread.


Browns Defense vs Steelers Offense

This is were this game can...and will get ugly. The Browns defense averages 419 total yards per game which ranks them 31st just behind the 49ers. And the Steelers average 370 total yards per game which is ranked 11th. Roethlisberger is going to target Antonio Brown and Le'Veon the most in the passing game. Brown will be going against Joe Haden most of the game and has had great numbers against him. Haden has problems going against small and quick receivers because of Haden's inability to play press-man against him. Bell will have a combination of linebackers (Jamie Collins, Christian Kirksey, and others) and young safeties. Browns and Bell are first and second on the team with catches...and Bell missed the first three games due to suspension.

The Browns struggle against the pass giving up about 275 yards per game...but against the run the Browns are 31st, giving up 143 yards per game. The linebackers for the Browns will have big games stat wise because the Steelers game plan should be give the ball to Bell 25+ times. The Browns have to choose whether or not to sell out on the run or pass and then hope they can force a turnover...whether its in the red zone stopping a score or the Steelers side of the ball shortening the field for the offense.


Five Guys to Watch

Cody Kessler: Kessler is going to be one of the five guys to watch until the end of the season. Kessler has an opportunity to prove to the front office and coaching staff he's the starter to build around. Kessler need to get the ball out quickly and to stay aggressive whether its down the field or scrabbling for extra yards.

Terrelle Pryor: Pryor has shown he can be a pro-bowl receiver. Kessler needs to play aggressive  and Pryor and him have good chemistry. So Pryor should get a ton of targets this week and should find the goal line at least once.

Cam Erving: Erving is running out of chances to prove he's an NFL player not just a starting center. With Heyward out, Erving has an opportunity to show he can be a competent center. These next few weeks will be a tryout not just for his Browns career but his entire NFL career.

Emmanual Ogbah: Ogbah is now listed as an defensive lineman instead of an outside linebacker. He needs to play well in both against the pass and rush. And he needs to capitalize on the pressure he gets on Roethlisberger.

Joe Haden: As long as Haden doesn't let Antonio Brown go for 120 + yards then its a success. Haden is in an almost impossible situation. He's banged up and he will have to go up against the best receiver without any help this game will show if he's quit...and if the team has quit on this year in general.

Injury Report

Weather Report
Betting Line: Pittsburgh -8


Prediction: Steelers 35 Browns 24

The Browns will fall to 0-11...*insert #questforimperfection & 0-16 parade jokes. This is a must win for the Steelers to potentially remained tied with the Ravens (who are playing the Cowboys). Kessler should play well and Pryor and Kirksey will continue to show that they are pro-bowl players but overall the team lacks talent all over...and this game will show the giant gap between the Steelers and Browns.