Browns caught Flacco Fever in LA sunshine
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
LOS ANGELES, CA
Four downs on Browns (7-4) v. Los Angeles Rams (5-6)
First down: Flacco Fever.
Retreating to Los Angeles immediately after the loss in Denver was planned to help the Browns recover quickly without having to make an extra cross-country trip. What the coaches didn’t expect was the team to contract a case of Flacco Fever. Circumstances have thrust Joe Flacco into the cockpit previously vacated by Deshaun Watson (shoulder surgery), P.J. Walker (turnover-itis) and Dorian Thompson-Robinson (concussion). Signed off the streets of Audubon, NJ, just 14 days ago, Flacco, 38, impressed everyone with his rocket arm, calm demeanor, capacity to assimilate the Browns’ offense, and his veteran, reassuring stature. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt called his arm strength “elite … a 5 out of 5” and added players were “fired up” upon seeing Flacco throw at practice. Receiver Amari Cooper described his throwing motion as “poetry in motion” and said his 15 years’ knowledge of the game was “utterly important.” Receiver Elijah Moore, who shared two unhappy seasons with Flacco with the Jets, said Flacco has “a calmness, [a] type of aura to him, to where if you’re ever hyped, he’s not going to give you that same energy back.” In his glory days with the Baltimore Ravens, during which he won 59.5 percent of his games (106-72), including 10 in the postseason and one Super Bowl, and tossed 237 touchdowns v. 146 interceptions, Flacco was tagged as Joe Cool because of his unflappable demeanor in times of stress. Perhaps more than his arm strength, that characteristic Flacco brings will help the most on a team under the stress of a playoff chase that is anything but wrapped up. 
Amari Cooper described Joe Flacco's dropback to throw as 'poetry in motion.' (Cleveland Browns)
Second down: Myles to go.
Part of the reason for stocking up on defensive linemen was to manage Myles Garrett’s snap counts to keep him fresher in the fourth quarters of games – and the season. As the Browns head into their crucial stretch run in December, Garrett is banged up again, this time with a left shoulder injury suffered in the Denver game. After that game, Garrett struggled to put on his shirt and spoke to media with his left arm in a sling. Although he vowed to play against the Rams, the outlook appeared bleak. But by the end of the practice week in LA, Garrett wasn’t even on the injury report. Playing up to media’s queries about his “miraculous recovery,” Garrett credited it to his personal wellness team, Browns training staff and his “wolverine blood.” Ok … fine. Garrett is involved in a nose-to-nose-to-nose race with Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt and Dallas’ Micah Parsons for the coveted defensive player-of-the-year award that has eluded him in his six previous seasons. The growth in him now is that he realizes the individual honor is tied to team success and that he has to be the defensive reason the Browns earn a playoff berth. For that to happen, he has to be on the field in December – a long month with five critical games.
Third down: The Stafford-Schwartz history.
Jim Schwartz was Matthew Stafford’s head coach in Detroit in Stafford’s first five seasons in the NFL. As a coach-QB partnership, they went 25-38, including 1-1 in one post-season appearance. Although a lot of water has gone under the bridge since their parting – Stafford won the Super Bowl with the Rams following the 2021 season – there is something to be said about Schwartz’s intimate knowledge of the quarterback to prepare his players for him. “He’s one of the best throwers of the football, number one in the league right now,” Schwartz said. “But in his era, just an arm that can make all the throws, an arm that can drop different arm angles, has tremendous accuracy, has great command of the offense, really good at threatening the whole field. He’s really good with his eyes, looking defenders off. You know, the sort of the no-look pass thing that gets a lot of attention from different quarterbacks in the league. Matthew’s been doing that for a long time, you know. I’m proud of where he’s going. He’s developed not just as a player but as a leader. And we’re going to play our very best on Sunday to come out with a win.”
Fourth down: Defense must step up.
The events surrounding the Browns’ quarterback position have been unforeseen, to be sure. Aside from those, however, the most surprising and most disappointing development of this season has been the inexplicable Jeckyll-and-Hyde nature of Schwartz’s defense. We’ve documented the home-and-away differences: Six games at home, Browns’ defense permits 10.1 points per game, 175.6 total yards per game, 92.1 rushing yards, and stuffs opponents for a 20 percent conversion rate on third downs. Five games on the road, the numbers are 26.8 points, 334.6 total yards, 122.4 rushing yards, and (still good) 33 percent third-down conversion rate. The one thing the defense does better is take away the ball on the road – 12 v. four at home. Schwartz had no explanation for the discrepancy other than to say the home crowd fuels the defense. They say that defense “travels” in the NFL, meaning a good defense is good at home and on the road. Yet the Browns have fallen behind 14-0 in their last three road games. The Browns have to be better on defense on the road to make it to the playoffs.
The pick: Browns 23, Rams 20.
My record: 7-4.
