Cleveland Browns: Where to go from an embarrassing 4-4 start

Keep a pedal on the gas, Kevin

Last season, Kevin Stefanski blew the NFL away with analytics and his ability to convert fourth downs, putting the Browns in positions to win. Now, he seems to be scared late in the game. On Sunday, he chose to point on 4th and 1 late in the game. It was jaw-dropping.

Part of last year’s success was an offense that wore down defenses to the point where keeping the team on the field for fourth downs was logical. Now the play calling is stale and inconsistent, and defenses can just bully the Browns into giving up poor field position and driving down the field to score.

Stefanski is a smart man. We all know that. He’s a calculated coach. But the inconsistency is maddening. If you’re going to go for it, do it. And if you aren’t going to go for it, don’t stop at the exact point where you should go for it.

Maybe it’s the second year yips? Let’s hope so. Because Stefanski has been a fan favorite, and further decline would be hard to watch.

We need depth yesterday

The “injury bug” has plagued the Cleveland Browns. It has hit all the key positions, and the backups have been sub-par, to say the least.

Playoff hero Blake Hance will start at right tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals come Sunday, which is far less scary than prior matchups with Joey Bosa or TJ Watt. That said, when Hance, a guard in college, is expected to shift everywhere on the line to cover for injured players, there is an issue. Money needs to be spent on reliable starting or veteran backup linemen that can step up when the injuries hit.

And that secondary. That secondary. The Browns need an entire practice squad of cornerbacks and safeties at this rate. Has every starter in the secondary been on the field all at once yet this season? It’s been hard to tell given the play. But what we can say is that the depth at secondary is too thin for the number of injuries the team sees on that side of the ball year in and year out.

Cleveland obviously can’t go out and sign five Jalen Ramsey’s to play second-fiddle. But if the Browns intend to have anyone left by, say, Week 11, they need to withdraw some money from the bank account and sign a few checks to a few FAs.

As it stands today, the Cleveland Browns are 4-4 with five divisional games left to play. Will this team make a Super Bowl run? 99.999% of people with a pulse would say no. But there is talent and a head coach good enough and smart enough to pull off a few upsets the next 9 weeks, with a bye week in that mix, there’s also a chance to get healthy-ish.

But as it stands, hold your breath, because those next 9 weeks may be very, very stressful.