The Cleveland Browns are 4 – 4 after an inexcusable loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8. Halloween turned out to be a lot of tricks and very little treats for the Browns.
In a lot of ways, that describes Cleveland’s season so far and moving forward: tricky.
- They must win 5 of their last 9 just to have a winning record
- They must win 6 of their last 9 to have double-digit wins
- They probably have to win 7 of their last 9 to make the playoffs
There is a myriad of reasons for the teams struggles so far. Injuries, silly penalties, poor execution, lack of focus, poor play calls, drops, fumbles, interceptions and the referees are just some of the reasons the Browns sit at 4 – 4 this season.
The bigger issue, that could help explain those issues, goes back to the team’s approach to OTAs and Training Camp this year.
From the start, it became clear that Cleveland had one major goal going into the season, be healthy. With that in mind, the Browns didn’t practice many of their key players, gave days off when players were nicked up and ran a safe offseason program.
The logic was sound. Cleveland was good the previous season, added talent in the offseason and had continuity on their coaching staff. Big things were ahead but they needed to keep their core as healthy as possible. By the start of the regular season, they had mostly achieved their goal. Stephen Carlson was lost for the year and Jacob Phillips would miss significant time but the starters and almost all key backups were mostly healthy.
Unfortunately, the team also didn’t get a lot of time together, were not very physical to prepare themselves for games and seemed to assume winning for the 2021 season. While their primary offseason goal was met, quickly injuries mounted all over the roster. The NFL is a physical game but, with a lot of soft tissue injuries, it seems the Browns were not prepared for the season.
Discipline and focus issues also could be attributed to the offseason plan. While the coaching staff may have said the right things, the safe plan that assumed wins would follow seems to have created a relaxed culture that has not led to victories.
In the end, if Cleveland was 6 – 2 and at the top of the conference, this conversation would not be necessary because the offseason plan and goal would have worked. Perhaps the team turns it around and is healthy and disciplined for the second “half” (17th game means “half the season” will technically be at halftime of Week 9’s game) of the season.
For now, the cautious, stay-safe goal of the offseason seems to have led to a team with injuries, silly penalties, poor execution, lack of focus, poor play calls, drops, fumbles and interceptions. Whether that is the cause or not, the Browns are 4 – 4 after Halloween with a tricky nine games remaining to give their fans a treat of a season.