Ken Dorsey was hired partly to improve production on first down. Through three games, the Browns are last by a lot in the important category.
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Second thoughts on Browns’ 21-15 loss to New York Giants …
1. There are plenty of troublesome numbers that portray the Browns’ ineptitude on offense, such as: 25th in scoring (16.7 points per game), 32nd in third-down efficiency (8 of 43 for 18.6%), and, of course, the 16 sacks and 42 quarterback hits allowed. At this rate, if Deshaun Watson lasts 17 games he would suffer 90 sacks – 14 more than the record of 76 set by David Carr in 2002 in 16 games. But the number that has to rankle the organization the most is this one: 3.47. That is the offense’s average gain on first downs. This is by far the lowest in the league, almost a half-yard less than second-worst Pittsburgh and almost two yards less than the league average of 5.4. If there was one piece of data the organization used to justify the firing of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt it was first-down yardage. In 2023, the Browns ranked 28th with an average of 4.87 yards on first down. Now, after firing Van Pelt and replacing him with Ken Dorsey, the first-down yardage is down by 29%. On Sunday against the Giants, the Browns ran 28 plays on first down for 107 yards, an average of 3.82 yards. First-down inefficiency is probably the single greatest reason for the third-down inefficiency and sack total.
2. The only concrete injury information delivered by coach Kevin Stefanski was that right guard Wyatt Teller will miss “multiple weeks” with a knee injury and “possibly” will be placed on injured reserve. The good news is the Browns probably are best-suited to replace Teller right now, with rookie Zak Zinter, who is a natural right guard, than any other position on the offensive line. The tackle positions remain in flux. The coach had no updates on Jedrick Wills (knee), Dawand Jones (knee) and James Hudson (shoulder). Also, he offered no update on Jack Conklin, who was primed to make his first appearance until suffering a hamstring injury at Friday’s practice. “We’ll take in more information today, tomorrow, Wednesday, before we know exactly how that’s going to shake out,” Stefanski said of tackle situation.
3. Even before the line was decimated in the third quarter, Stefanski elected not to use the jumbo formations (sixth and seventh offensive linemen) that were effective in Jacksonville. Instead, he used emergency backup tight ends Blake Whiteheart (18 snaps) and Geoff Swaim (11 snaps). It was an obvious miscalculation. I asked Stefanski if it was the result of general game-planning for the Giants or uncertainty about the health of the offensive line. He responded, “I think all of the above,” and then added, “Just with the health of some of our offensive line, it probably wasn’t possible to get some of those guys in those roles, but [that] doesn’t mean that — there’s plenty of things that we can do better, certainly.”
4. One of the biggest plays that submarined the late comeback effort by the offense came after designated-sneaker Jameis Winston was stuffed on third-and-1 by Kayvon Thibodeaux. After using his first timeout with 4:03 to go in the game, Stefanski sent Watson back on the field for fourth-and-1 from the Browns’ 29. But instead of lining up in sneak formation with jumbo blockers, Watson lined up in shotgun. Watson failed to release the ball to tight end Jordan Akins, who was open 3 yards at the right sideline, and then hastily tried to lunge and reach for the first down and came up short. The problem lies with Watson’s inability or unwillingness to execute a quarterback sneak. Remember, Stefanski used to bring Jacoby Brissett in for the play in Watson’s first year. Last season, Stefanski and line coach Bill Callahan designed a short-yardage package using backup tight end Harrison Bryant. This year, it’s Winston’s job. I asked Stefanski the challenges imposed by not having your starting quarterback capable of performing the sneak – one of the simplest plays in football. “Yeah, I don’t see it that way at all,” Stefanski answered. “I think you see that from around the league, different teams do that. We’ve used different players in there. There’s a bunch of things that you can do in those moments. Obviously, I gotta do a better job for this team in those moments, and we have to do a better job and give those guys some plays to go get the first down there.”
5. Everyone from Stefanski to defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz on down has trust in cornerback M.J. Emerson to hold his own against the league’s best receivers. Emerson did that against Justin Jefferson in two joint practices against the Vikings in August. But I don’t understand why Schwartz wouldn’t shadow Denzel Ward, who’s having a great season, against the elite receivers on the schedule. Against Malik Nabers, for example, Schwartz stayed to his left (Ward) and right (Emerson) standard alignment. In the first half, Nabers was 6 for 6 on targets with 2 touchdowns. Now, only 3 of the receptions came with Emerson in coverage, including the acrobatic TD catch in the left corner. The other TD to Nabers came on a slant inside of trailing safety Rodney McLeod. In the second half, Nabers was 2 of 6 for 12 yards. Schwartz did switch Ward on him on occasion; Ward had two PBUs. But the Giants also moved Nabers to the slot and he was 0 for 3 against nickel back Greg Newsome, with one ball overthrown. “There are certain times that we have various reasons to play right and left,” Stefanski said. “So it’s always by game plan and it’s really week to week.”
6. I’m convinced that Watson needs to have 4-5 designed runs to open things up. He had one against the Giants.
7. All is not lost. The Browns currently own the No. 7 playoff seed in the AFC by virtue of their 1-0 record in conference games.