Browns coaching consultant Mike Vrabel will attend ceremonies to retire his No. 84 football jersey after the first quarter of the Walsh Jesuit v St. Ignatius game on Friday night. (TheLandOnDemand)
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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.
Jim Schwartz once used a phony statistic to motivate his 0-1 club.
“At one time, teams that started 1-0 had a less chance to make the playoffs than the teams that started 0-1,” the Browns defensive coordinator contended. “And I couldn’t wrap my arms around, like, why that was.
“And the best I could come up with is the teams that were 0-1 had to confront their problems, right? They were embarrassed by the performance. It’s a big game and you have to go out and it’s an immediate self-check. You get slapped and, ‘hey, we gotta go’. The urgency to get it right.
“And maybe there’s a tendency if you start 1-0 maybe you dismiss or ignore some of those same problems just because of the result of the game. So I think it’s been a little bit more of that. We have a really proud group on offense and defense and they’re anxious to put that week behind and come up with a win on the road.”
(Actually, since 1990 teams that are 1-0 are more than twice as likely to make the playoffs as 0-1 teams. 1-0 teams made the playoffs 54.2 percent of the time and 0-1 teams made it 25 percent.)
Pressed on where he found his motivational statistic, Schwartz laughed and said, “Who knows? Maybe I made it up. I don’t know. It sounded good.”
Yes, coaches will do and say anything to avoid going 0-2. You know why?
Since 1970, 416 NFL teams started the season 0-2. Only 40 of them made the playoffs. So that’s not even one team per year. Last year, the Houston Texans were the only team among nine that started 0-2 to reach the postseason, and it took a win in their final game to sneak to the top of their division.
The Browns have never begun a season 0-2 under Kevin Stefanski.
In 2020, they were 0-1 after a 38-6 loss in Baltimore and won their next four games.
In 2021, they were 0-1 after a heart-breaking 33-29 loss in Kansas City and won their next three games.
In 2022 and 2023, they were 1-0, lost Game 2, and both times were 2-2 in the first month.
One of Stefanski’s greatest traits as Browns coach is being able to focus his team on the next game no matter how badly they lose. More times than not, they've avoided a two-game losing streak.
Under Stefanski, the Browns have lost 30 games in the regular season, not counting last week’s 33-17 defeat to Dallas. In games after those losses, the Browns are 21-9.
“Coach Stefanski’s record is proven in bouncing back,” said guard Joel Bitonio. “He doesn’t ride the roller coaster. Everybody else is riding the roller coaster. But he’s the same guy. He’s focused. He has one mission this week, to go 1-0 no matter how. He doesn’t hear the outside noise. And that’s what you look for in your leader.”
Urgent care
Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone doubles as Stefanski’s assistant head coach. Ventrone also interviewed for the Colts’ head coach position in 2023 before he joined the Browns.
Ventrone sounded like a head coach when talking about the sluggish opening game loss to the Cowboys.
“I think overall, our urgency as a team and our effort needs to be better,” Ventrone said. “Overall, I just think that, you know, Week 1, there’s a lot of unknowns going into Week 1. You know, the continuity within the group. You really don’t know your football team until after, really, the first month of the season. So I think we’re still trying to figure out who we are and make the corrections from this past game, not only in the kicking game, but on offense and defense, and then just try to apply it to this upcoming week.”
Speaking only of the offense, receiver Amari Cooper said, “The [goal] with offense is to score points on every drive. We need more urgency in that regard.”
Watson update
Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey found something positive to say about Deshaun Watson’s first game back since November 13 and shoulder surgery shortly thereafter.
“He really showed that he can go out and play a full four-quarter physical football game and he’s built for that,” Dorsey said.
Watson’s history of misconduct in massage sessions in 2021, which resulted in an 11-game NFL suspension in 2022, was reopened this week when a new accusation of sexual assault was made in a civil lawsuit filed in Houston.
Lawyer Tony Buzbee told ESPN and other news organizations that his client intends to meet with NFL investigator Lisa Friel in two weeks and that they will bring two witnesses and a “pertinent” video to support the woman’s complaint.
Meanwhile, Dorsey said Watson has been “locked in” on his job and that in team meetings “he’s been taking his notes and asking questions and doing everything he can to prepare to be ready to go on Sunday.”
As far as the locker room, there is no evident erosion of support for or confidence in Watson.
“Listen man, I know he has a lot on his plate,” safety Grant Delpit said. “When we come in this building, we come here to work and we come here to execute what we got to do. I let him know I got [his] back no matter what. As long as we’re as a team and as long as you’re in this locker room with us, I would never do anything to go against you or hurt you. Nobody knows what he’s going through.
“I got my quarterback’s back.”
Brownie bits
Defensive ends Myles Garrett (foot) and Za’Darius Smith (back) showed up on the injury report and did not practice …
Tackles Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin again were limited, leaving most of the team reps at left tackle to James Hudson. He’ll probably make his second straight start in Jacksonville. The good news is Wills practiced without the brace he had been wearing on his right knee. Joining Wills and Conklin in the “limited” category, however, was Bitonio, who wore a big brace on his right elbow. “Got a little nicked up, so I’m just trying to protect it a little in practice,” Bitonio said …
Coaching and personnel consultant Mike Vrabel will have his Walsh Jesuit HS No. 84 football jersey retired in a ceremony following the first quarter of the Walsh’s game Friday night against St. Ignatius HS. Vrabel is the first player at Walsh to receive the honor.