BALTIMORE, Maryland – Scribbles in my notebook after the Browns’ 23-20 loss at Baltimore:
1. After losing to the Ravens on Sunday, I wasn’t so worried when the Browns players shouted in the locker room. They were interested enough to show some emotion and frustration, even if at least some of them were probably misguided. Things said in anger after a imminent loss are often not the wisest words.
2. Kevin Stefanski called it “normal football”. There is no coach. Players do not shout after every loss. Don’t reject it. Find out exactly what’s going on. This season is getting tougher as the week goes on for the Browns. You have to make sure these guys don’t turn on each other.
3. Myles Garrett on the shouts: “I’ve heard a lot too. I think there are a lot of guys who are passionate about winning, passionate about the game. They will voice their opinions. Sometimes it spills out where outsiders can hear it, but no one is worse than being worn out. I think everyone is determined to win and right what we did wrong.”
4. Back to the big picture. Stefanski is currently in the middle of its third season. When he was hired, he probably thought the first year would be the hardest. Had to hire a staff member. Couldn’t have OTAs and other spring apps due to COVID-19. He was new to being the NFL head coach.
5. In Stefanski’s first season, the Browns opened with a 38-6 crush at the same Baltimore course. Then things changed. They won a tight 35-30 decision against Cincinnati. He then took three more wins, beating Washington, Dallas, and Indianapolis. All of a sudden, the rookie coach was 4-1 and had some credibility. The Browns made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Baltimore Ravens corner player Kevon Seymour is signaling “not good” for a possible fourth quarter game tie-in shot attempt.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
6. I have a hard time remembering, but Stefanski started last season with a 3-1 score. They were 4-3 after seven games in the same spot. Baker Mayfield took a 17-14 win over Denver, a gratifying game due to injuries to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Case Keenum and D’Ernest Johnson were the heroes that Thursday night.
7. Stefanski is at his lowest point as head coach. His current four-win streak is the longest in his junior career. The coach should know that at some point there should be a change in his staff. Joe Woods made a good effort from his defense. But defense remains a major issue. So are special teams.
8. However, it is difficult to make dramatic changes to the coaching staff throughout the season. And Stefanski has to do a lot of self-evaluation. He’s struggling to come up with a game plan with QB Jacoby Brissett. When the running offense breaks down, Stefanski returns to the urge to throw the ball and tries to try the “explosive games” he talked about at a press conference earlier in the week.
9. Brissett is not a big-playing QB. Nick Chubb is playing a big game. Earlier in this game, it was clear that the theme would be “ugly win”. It would be relatively low scoring and physical. Baltimore adapted. The Ravens saw Lamar Jackson having trouble throwing the ball. So they ran – 44 times compared to 16 pass attempts. It worked.
Jacoby Brissett was fired by Baltimore five times.
John Kuntz, cleveland.com
10. The Ravens ran 160 yards with these 44 carriers. The average was just 3.6 yards per carry. But it worked. They held the ball for 34 minutes, compared to the Browns’ 26 minutes.
11. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh of running the ball too often: “That’s how the game was played. It was one of those kind of games where you try to win the game no matter what.”
12. Harbaugh got to the heart of the matter when he told Jackson after the game, “Don’t think you didn’t win this game for us.” As a quarterback, you can win a game in many different ways than simply throwing the ball.”
13. Baltimore was advancing at lightning speed and putting a lot of pressure on Brissett. He was dismissed five times. Lost a hum. Screen transitions would probably have helped. Chubb had only 16 carries for 91 yards. Hunt had a rough day, 5 yards on four carry. They let Baltimore set the pace of the game.
14. Garrett said: “This is so frustrating. We say the same things every week. We have to find a way to win and stop beating ourselves up.”
Cleveland Browns ground kicker Cade York (3) blocked his shot attempt by Baltimore Ravens defender Malik Harrison (40).
AP
15. He’s right. Left kick, Jedrick Wills Jr. made an expensive false start and received a hold-down and gave up at least one sack. Fair or not, Michael Dunn has been flagged for this false start. Cade York backed up for another 5 yards. This kicked in to potentially tie the game at 60 yards. Partially blocked.
16. York’s last shot attempt Harbaugh: “It was a long shot, so you’re going to get a lower trajectory. [Special teams coordinator] Chris Horton did a great job as a middle push rusher. We have great mid-range guys, so we have a good push there… Then, the guys raised their hands and Malik [Harrison] found the ball. So, I’m sure it was a lower hit and he could find the ball… Having a longer hit and a lower trajectory definitely helped us.”
17. Maybe York blocked the shot from 55 yards instead of 60 yards. But one thing’s for sure: it made the penalty kick longer and harder. York had converted the 37- and 41-yard field goals. 11 of 13 pitches this season.
18. What was the difference in the game – at least in terms of points? Baltimore’s super kicker Justin Tucker took a 55-yard lead to give his team a 23-13 lead with 11:24 left in the game. The Browns recorded a TD after that, but that didn’t make up for the last three points.
19. A classy answer from Amari Cooper about the authorities. I thought the blocking call to him was suspicious at best. It cost the Browns a TD. The receptionist said: “Something I shouldn’t do… I’m a professional and I can’t give the referee a chance to make such a decision. I can play cleaner… We were fighting. It was a very subjective call. If I played the game again, I could have caught that prey without doing what I did. This is from me.”
20. The next opponent is Cincinnati. The Bengals started 0-2 and have since won 5/5.
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