Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield — (Image Credit: WKYC)
WELCOME TO THE FANS PERSPECTIVE
*Editor’s Note*
Anthony D. Stevenson is not only our latest addition to the Baseline Perspective team, he’s born and bred from the “HARDLAND OF AMERICA”, Cleveland, Ohio! Anthony’s passion for football has always been there as far back as he can remember and so has his love for the Cleveland Browns.
While in the U.S. Air Force, Anthony played cornerback for the Bitburg Barons CSC football team in Europe. He then played cornerback for the Tri-Country Gamecocks semi-pro football team, in South Carolina.
Anthony offers not only his insight, having played, but also his passion as a fan! It’s only right then that a “dawg pounder for life” gives you his weekly FANS PERSPECTIVE on the 2018-19 season for the Cleveland Browns. Here’s his latest:
Have you ever heard the statement, “the more things change, the more they stay the same”? Well that statement holds true in Cleveland right now.
The sports world as we knew it, is no more; starting Sunday morning prior to kickoff of the Browns-Steelers game in Pittsburgh, Cleveland sports fans learned that our beloved Cavaliers had fired coach Ty Lue after an 0 – 6 start to the season. But we would process that later because right now, we must focus on going into hostile territory against the hated Steelers. We played them to a tie to open the season, but this is a different Steelers team. We will truly see where the Browns measure up against the big brother of the AFC North.
One of the main focuses on offense had been rectifying the slow starts from previous games. The way Baker Mayfield and the Browns offense started the game, it looked like problem solved. Mayfield went 6 of 7 passing on the opening drive only to stall out in the red zone and had to settle for a field goal. Now it was the defense’s turn! They caused a 3 and out on the Steelers opening drive forcing a punt, and on their next drive, Derrick Kindred intercepts Big Ben. Once again however, the Browns can’t take full advantage of the turnover. They settle for a field goal.
At this point you got the sense that those field goals instead of touchdowns would come back to haunt the Browns, especially against Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. The Browns defense stands up again and holds Pittsburgh to just a field goal making the score 6 – 3 Cleveland. The Browns offense puts together another good-looking drive but cannot get the ball in the end zone. Greg Joseph attempts a 41-yard field goal, but it is wide right. No good!
New Game, Same Script
The Browns play the Steelers twice a year, every year. Now for those of us who know how this rivalry goes, we know the first game is always different from the second. We’ve seen this movie before. The Browns squander opportunity after opportunity to put away the Steelers. Remember the question I opened the article with? Exactly! So why would we think it would be different this year? It wasn’t!!!
Ben started getting hot in the second quarter, starting with a touchdown pass to Antonio Brown; this made the score 7 – 6 and they never looked back. That fired up their defense and then they released the hounds on Mayfield, blitzing him on what seemed like every play he attempted to throw the ball.
For the first time this season, rookie Left Tackle Desmond Harrison, who had been playing very well, looked confused at times and over matched other times. Because of that and the absolutely poor performance of the offensive line as a unit, Mayfield took a beating. When that happens, you know what that means for the defense. It means they were on the field way too much and by the 4th quarter, it showed. They looked defeated and disinterested. One would even say that they quit midway through the 4th quarter. What started out looking like it would be a competitive game, quickly turned into an ugly blowout by the Steelers, 33 – 18.
This loss extends the Browns losing streak on the road to 25 games; 1 short of the NFL record. That’s right Dawg Pound, the Browns haven’t won a road game since October 11, 2015 against the Baltimore Ravens. This is also the Browns 15th consecutive loss in Pittsburgh.
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE IN CLEVELAND, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME
Now, back to that statement! This is a new football team, and a new front office. But the results, product on the field, and the perceived internal discord between Head Coach Hue Jackson and Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley, was starting to emit a familiar stench. A retched odor that was taking fans back to time in recent history where the organization was in complete disarray.
Enter General Manager John Dorsey! His mantra from day one was to “change the culture in Cleveland and awaken the sleeping giant, that is Cleveland Browns football!” That’s his charge and he has full support from ownership. He started with bold moves in the off season during Free Agency and continued that in the draft.
Hue Jackson, behind him, Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam — Image Credit: David Richard / Associated Press)
I can only assume that Dorsey saw the same thing that Browns fans saw on Sunday. A team that quit on the head coach. That, along with the now public feud with Haley, was taking the organization back down a road which was the cause of all the futility of the past. Dorsey said NO!!! And Head Coach Hue Jackson was relieved of his duties on Monday.
TURNING THE PAGE
Some would say it was a long time coming, but never-the-less, the Hue Jackson era in Cleveland is over. And as if to leave absolutely no doubt about his seriousness in changing the culture and not going backwards, Dorsey fired Haley also. During today’s press conference with Dorsey and Owner Jimmy Haslam, Haslam stated that “internal discord will not be tolerated” so it seems that Hue would’ve still had a chance to keep his job had the team performed better on Sunday. The fact that it looked as though they quit; coupled with the fractured relationship between Jackson and Haley, spelled doom for them both.
Moving forward, the Browns will make Defensive Coordinator Greg Williams the interim Head Coach and Running Backs/Associate Head Coach Freddie Kitchens will be the new Offensive Coordinator and will call plays. This is a lot for anybody to process and for rookie Baker Mayfield, it probably has his head spinning right about now. But we will see just what this team is made of over the next 8 games. We will see if there is truly a culture change in Cleveland, or if it is the same old, same old. Go Browns!!!
