Cleveland Browns: Is Mike Pettine changing the culture?

The Cleveland Browns blew a huge opportunity to beat the Denver Broncos and make a statement to their fans and the rest of the league. In a game where many (myself included) expected the Browns to struggle, they found ways to make plays and gave themselves multiple opportunities to win, exorcising their biggest non divisional demons in the Broncos, who they had not beaten in a quarter century. Despite all of it, all of the frustration, negatives and everything else, there appears to be a culture change happening in the Cleveland Browns locker room under Mike Pettine.

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Changing a culture takes time. Going from a losing culture to a winning culture, a selfish culture to a team first culture, or a proud tradition of winning to losing – it all takes time. So often in sports, a new coach is hired and immediately pundits are talking about how the culture has changed. That is excitement and being open minded to a new coach, which can last for a run or a great season, but if that new coach does not prove to be competent or players do not buy in to what they are selling, it fades quickly and that culture can rubber band right back into losing ways.

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Under different regimes, the Browns have signed or otherwise acquired players from ‘winning franchises’ in hopes that they would inject that attitude into the locker room, aiding the transition of the culture change. Too often, the losing abyss drags those players down into it, they are at the end of their career and just here for one last paycheck or they leave as quickly as they can. The coaches or organization ultimately fail and nothing really changes.

This has been no different under current front office, but where other regimes have failed, Pettine has been consistent with his approach and his message since he arrived in Cleveland. Both fans and media like to make jokes with the ‘Play like a Brown’ mantra the team uses when the team loses or a player makes a stupid mistake, but it seems to be taking hold. Pettine stresses accountability and has created an environment where players are constantly competing and earning playing time.

After losses, with rare exception, players are talking about what they need to do better, the plays they need to make, pointing the finger at themselves as opposed to anywhere else. The guys who work hard are finding themselves with the rest of the locker room behind them. A good example is the difference between Johnny Manziel last year and now, after this most recent incident.

Last year, teammates were unwilling to allow Manziel skate and let him know what their expectations were, privately and later publicly. This year, after a trip to rehab and marked improvement by all accounts, even with this latest issue that does not shine a good light on him, that locker room is behind him, supporting him.

The competitive environment Pettine has created has allowed young and unheralded players to make big contributions, but more importantly, the Browns have a roster full of players not afraid to compete. As a result, they are willing to fight in games from start to finish. Save the Jets game, the Browns’ three losses have been within one score with the Browns having a chance to win. That’s progress. It’s sad that is considered progress, but that is how bad this franchise has been.

The next step is obviously winning more of those games, which is a matter of continuing to build upon the culture that is slowly changing as well as simply adding more and better talent. For all of the Browns’ losses that are close, they are still losses, which is what doomed Pettine’s predecessors.

They managed to win against Baltimore in an important divisional game, regardless of the Ravens’ record. But for as much as can be written about the fight in the team, the effort level, and everything else, the team is sitting at 2-4. As Pettine well knows and accepted when taking the job, if he cannot guide the team to more wins, the blame falls on him.

The losing culture is not just limited to the team. The fanbase is infected as well. That is not to blame fans as they have been fed bad Browns football for the past decade and a half, but there is an unbelievably negative tilt by fans with this team. For example, when the Browns lost in overtime on the road to the San Diego Chargers, a Browns fan and Bleacher Report analyst immediately sent out this tweet

Devastating loss for Browns, and the schedule only gets harder until the bye week. Could easily be 1-9 by Week 11.
— Brent Sobleski (@brentsobleski) October 4, 2015

This quote was chosen specifically because I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the knowledge and acumen Sobleski consistently brings to the table, both in his work and the few times I have been fortunate enough to speak with him in person. Despite being a smart, rational football mind, the losing can reduce otherwise intelligent people into a fount of anger and frustration.

Oct 11, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine celebrates after his team scores during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Cleveland Browns defeated Baltimore Ravens 33-30 in over time. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The losing culture in Cleveland is often cited when the Browns fall short at the end of a tough game like with what happened yesterday. In overtime, Barkevious Mingo intercepted a Peyton Manning pass, setting up a golden opportunity for the Browns to win the game. From that point on, the Browns simply choked. Three negative plays on offense, taking them out of field goal range, followed by a punt and then the Broncos drove the field to kick the game winning field goal.

The only way to break through that wall is to keep getting into those situations and finally get through that mental block. Getting fed up with the nerves and being worried about failure, expecting to win and then making it happen. The good news is that under Pettine, they have been finding themselves in a lot of these situations. In all, the Browns have been in 12 games (out of 22) decided by a touchdown or less with the Browns winning five of them.

The Broncos game, in many ways, offered a breakthrough opportunity. They were not fighting to win against a bad or even a middle of the road team. The Broncos were undefeated and the Browns had their chance to knock them off and get themselves back to 3-3. An opportunity missed and it was clear in the post-game interviews, the players knew it, felt it.

The football side of the organization, from the coaching staff to the players in the locker room appears to be making a meaningful shift happening – a slow but deliberate one, heading in a positive direction. It remains to be seen if it will be allowed to continue and come to fruition, assuming Pettine and his staff are capable to go the distance. The question now is if the business side of the organization, from ownership to the front office, are matching the commitment to change the culture. Those questions are currently unanswered, at least publicly, but critically important.

Oct 11, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Travis Benjamin (11) runs as Baltimore Ravens strong safety Will Hill (33) dives to tackle him during the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Cleveland Browns defeated Baltimore Ravens 33-30 in over time. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

In the event that Pettine proves capable of being the coach that can spearhead what so many others have tried and failed in Cleveland over the long haul, unclear at this point, he can only go so far without effective support from ownership and the front office. That is not a shot at anyone in the front office necessarily, but just an open question that will need to be answered by the end of the season and going forward.

Is general manager Ray Farmer, now off of his suspension, working to improve the team and figuring out how best to help Pettine or is he more worried about his own survival, regardless of Pettine? Is owner Jimmy Haslam over his self-described ‘rookie mistakes’ and ready to be a productive owner or will he fall into the same trappings that left him publicly humiliated in a press conference? These questions and the overall uncertainty of the Browns’ future becomes a specter that haunts the team every time they lose a game.

Despite the frustrations, and there are a lot of them with the Cleveland Browns, head coach Mike Pettine is making an impact on how the players view this team, view themselves; especially young players. After accusations that the team or parts of it had quit on the coach two weeks ago, despite just a field goal loss to the Chargers on the road, the Browns came back and beat the Ravens on the road and took the undefeated Broncos to the wire.

This team fights and it has to because it does not have enough talent to let up on teams and still win games. If Pettine is able to foster an environment where players consistently fight on a weekly basis for four quarters, it might be worth finding out what he can do with a more talented roster.

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