Daily News Latest trending news
CLEVELAND — With simply over 9 mins nonetheless to move in essentially the most ballyhooed Browns season opener because the days of Bernie Kosar — heck, since possibly even Jim Brown — the unattainable passed off. Cleveland fanatics started submitting out of FirstEnergy Stadium. The Dawg Pound, of all doggone puts, thinned out into an orange swath of empty bleachers.
Even in this star-studded squad, that includes quarterback Baker Mayfield, receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and defensive finish Myles Garrett, the Browns had been all the time going to stand adversity, a minimum of someday down the road. They had been going to be doubted. They had been — as Mayfield would put it — going to be tossed into the trash.
Just about no one, then again, anticipated that to return ahead of the primary sport of the season had even ended.
No longer after Mayfield’s breakout rookie marketing campaign throughout the air remaining 12 months. No longer after Cleveland then received the offseason via touchdown Beckham in a blockbuster handle the New York Giants. No longer after common supervisor John Dorsey had assembled an enviable roster that on paper gave the impression provided to eliminate the NFL’s longest playoff and divisional identify droughts.
However after the Tennessee Titans quashed all of the hype in a 43-13 shellacking, the day of reckoning for Cleveland arrived in simply in the future.
“We misplaced our self-discipline and we misplaced our composure, nevertheless it’s one sport and we’re going to be examined,” Cleveland trainer Freddie Kitchens mentioned. “You both take adversity and run in combination and run towards each and every different otherwise you run away.”
The Browns spent maximum of Sunday operating within the fallacious route. For the primary time in 68 years, Cleveland dedicated 18 consequences for 182 yards, which derailed its personal offensive drives whilst conserving a number of of Tennessee’s alive and rolling.
Kitchens and Mayfield appropriately identified later on that consequences had been the most important offender at the back of the deflating defeat. Some, together with a pricey offensive move interference on Beckham that wiped away a scoring alternative simply ahead of halftime, had been questionable. Others, akin to left take on Greg Robinson kicking Titans protection Kenny Vaccaro within the head, had been blatant.
In both case, the penalty onslaught gave the Titans’ offense existence and self assurance, translating into issues in the second one part. And at the different facet of the ball, the penalty barrage put Mayfield into various tricky scenarios, prompting him to press and sooner or later throw 3 interceptions, the remaining of which Malcolm Butler returned for a pick-six exclamation level.
zero:40
Odell Beckham Jr. stocks his religion in QB Baker Mayfield and talks concerning the Browns’ skill to win and the way that’ll stay fanatics within the seats.
“I believe everyone is aware of what the issue is,” Mayfield mentioned. “Dumb consequences hurting ourselves. Then clearly turnovers on my section. Simply dumb stuff.”
But as dumb as all of the consequences had been, they overshadowed different troubling manifestations, maximum significantly the play of the offensive line.
Ahead of and after Robinson’s ejection, the Browns struggled to give protection to Mayfield and provides him the time he would wish to release Beckham and Jarvis Landry downfield. In keeping with Subsequent Gen Stats, all 5 sacks and 3 interceptions of Mayfield got here when Tennessee introduced handiest 4 pass-rushers. And of the 27 passing performs wherein the Titans rushed handiest 4 gamers, they compelled a whopping 10 quarterback pressures.
Offensive line was once all the time going to be the possible Achilles’ heel of an differently potent Browns assault, some degree implicitly bolstered remaining week when Dorsey traded for a couple of guards in Justin McCray and Wyatt Teller. However as soon as Robinson exited the sphere, the road started to capitulate, as Mayfield was once sacked for a security at the resulting pressure. From there, it was once open season on Mayfield, who after the sport needed to get to an X-ray on his throwing hand, which published a bruise, however no wreck, in step with a supply. Nonetheless, Mayfield left the stadium together with his hand and wrist wrapped.
“We need to evaluation that and spot,” mentioned Kitchens, hinting that schematic adjustments may well be on how one can deal with his line’s deficiencies, therapies that should come briefly with reigning NFL Defensive Participant of the 12 months Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams — 2018’s NFC champions — visiting Cleveland in two weeks.
“We need to get the ball out of [Mayfield’s] hand faster. We held onto the ball for too lengthy. Infrequently [the Titans] had been again there lovely briefly, however no matter it’s, we’ve to give protection to higher. I’ve to do a greater task of calling performs the place we will give protection to higher and assist us give protection to higher.”
The Browns should do significantly better defensively, as neatly.
Tennessee’s receivers, together with rookie A.J. Brown, bodily ruled Cleveland’s secondary, particularly after the catch. And on an afternoon when the Titans didn’t have suspended left take on Taylor Lewan, the Browns’ intended deadly move rush led via Garrett was once noticeably tamed.
“We didn’t even circle this sport,” crowed Titans tight finish Delanie Walker, who baited Garrett into punching him within the face for but some other backbreaking penalty. “They had been who we idea they had been.”
Regardless of Walker’s absolute best efforts, one sport isn’t sufficient to outline those Browns.
However after such an inexplicably disheartening defeat, at the heels of an offseason of giant expectancies and large hype and large communicate, a defining second is already right here.
“Everyone’s going to throw us within the trash, and I believe that is just right,” Mayfield mentioned, defiantly. “I do know what form of males we’ve on this locker room, and reasonably frankly, I do not actually give a rattling what occurs at the outdoor. I know the way we are going to react; I do know what we are going to do, how we are going to jump again.
“We are in a position to move.”
Who’re those Browns and what’s their mettle?
We’re about to determine, a lot faster than lets’ve imagined.
