It’s Time To Regroup Not Overreact in Cleveland
Photo Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
When it comes to overreactions, the sports world reigns supreme. From talking heads on TV and radio to enraged fans on Twitter, the NFL universe is happy to dramatically respond to each and every moment of its season.
When league schedule makers handed out their matchups back in April, the Cleveland Browns were dealt the unique combination of an extremely early bye week and a division-rival-heavy start. Three of their first four games against the AFC North would be followed by a break only a quarter of the way into the season.
The schedule represented an incredible opportunity for the upstart Browns to lay early claim to the league’s toughest division. Unfortunately, a devastating Nick Chubb injury and a Dorian Thompson-Robinson appearance derailed that chance and left Cleveland 2-2 heading into the break.
On came the overreactions.
From calls for Kevin Stefanski’s job to conspiracy theories about an issue within he and Deshaun Watson’s relationship, Browns Nation finds itself mired in some tumultuous opinions.
“You never hear a head coach call a QB out like that.”@RSherman_25 says Kevin Stefanski’s criticism of Deshaun Watson was “strange” pic.twitter.com/vh3LHipKJn
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) October 3, 2023
Is time running out for Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland…#IDontWantToOverreactBUT #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/vWe1n4K5Ep
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 2, 2023
But the Cleveland faithful need to take a deep breath and reflect on the words of a former Green Bay quarterback.
R-E-L-A-X.
Given the circumstances they have faced, now is no time for the Browns to overreact. Firings, trades, and dramatic benchings do not belong in Cleveland conversations. This is not a reassessment moment, it’s simply a regroup moment. This is a time to get healthy, spend the extra week focusing on what you do best, and move forward with the same goals in mind.
Any team that lost their best player in Week 2 and their high-priced starting quarterback in Week 4 would likely feel fortunate to be .500 with their quarterback coming back after the bye. And even the most cursory look at both losses presents obvious evidence as to why no deeper worry is warranted.
Sure, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a great pass rush, but two defensive touchdowns in one game is a lightning-strikes-twice sort of moment. Pittsburgh desperately needed both plays to have any chance in what otherwise felt like a lopsided matchup on Monday Night Football. The Browns had their opportunities and should have won regardless of the touchdowns, but the loss in no way feels representative of who Cleveland will be moving forward.
Absolutely nothing relevant can be taken away from the Dorian Thompson-Robinson experience at a broader team level. Kevin Stefanski is one of the most historically run-centric playcallers we’ve seen in the new age NFL. Sliding an unprepared rookie into this offense against a good defense that was more than willing to commit to stopping the run was a recipe for disaster.
There is good reason to take issue with Andrew Berry’s decision to move on from Josh Dobbs in the preseason. With Dobbs thriving in Arizona and DTR’s, disaster Berry certainly has some questions to answer. Most teams that truly believe themselves to be contenders place a higher value on the backup QB. But even that frustration doesn’t have to be a hard overreaction. No one needs to call for Berry’s job. Instead, the front office has two weeks to go out and find a suitable veteran presence in case this happens again.
Cleveland’s bye week needs to be spent with their coach and quarterback continuing to get on the same page. Notice the key word here: continuing. Despite what Twitter might have you believe, things were finally progressing. In Week 3, Watson played perhaps his best game as a Cleveland Brown and somehow even got the stoic Stefanski to show some emotion.
Might be the most emotion I’ve ever seen from Kevin Stefanski #Browns pic.twitter.com/RVPJloRIE3
— Matt Fontana (@MattFontana83) September 24, 2023
There’s no big secret here about Watson’s absence. It was the right decision by an organization whose general manager and coach watched the star quarterback warm up and then took advice from the training staff and the player himself. It’s always great to have your best options on the field, but Super Bowls are not won in Week 4. Watson and Stefanski are finally growing together as a unit and they know it. Everyone assumed plugging the former Texan in would immediately turn things on. But Watson’s rust, combined with the unique nature of a run-centric coach working with an extremely pass-centric quarterback was always going to take time. We are finally starting to see the fruits of that labor.
Protecting the quarterback’s shoulder and spending the additional time evolving will continue to lead this unit in the right direction, regardless of what it did to the current record. Ultimately, they believe they can stand a very good offense next to an elite defense just as football games start to really matter.
So while it’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of over-reactions, the better way to spend the bye week is focusing on how close this team is. After years of dysfunction, the pieces are in place. It was never going to be as simple as just letting them run. Cleveland was always going to have to work hard to build something special. Don’t let the 2-2 start fool you; through four weeks, they have taken a step towards doing just that.
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