By: Andy Davies

Last season, the Cleveland Browns earned their first playoff appearance since the 2002 campaign and their first postseason win since New Year’s Day in 1995. 

As a result, they went into the 2021 season with plenty of hype. However, it hasn’t worked out like this. The team’s current record is 5-5 and they are in a division where every team has at least 5 wins. 

So, what has gone wrong for a team that many had down as AFC North division winners? Is there still a chance to win it?

Inconsistent Division

The short answer is yes, they can. The AFC North is fast becoming one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL, but no team has managed to get some sort of consistency. Baltimore Ravens fans will certainly tell you that. 

They had a 5-1 start, which included a 46-35 win over the reigning AFC Champions Kansas City Chiefs. The week after beating the Los Angeles Chargers 34-6, a team that many have as a Super Bowl dark horse, they lost 41-17 to division rivals the Cincinnati Bengals. On Thursday night, they lost 22-10 to the Miami Dolphins, who were 2-6 before the game. More worryingly for the Ravens, the Dolphins appeared to show the entire league the blueprint as to how to beat them. 

The Cincinnati Bengals were briefly top of the division just a matter of weeks ago but now sits in 3^rd place. We have seen the excitement of the Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase partnership but have equally seen the defense allow at least 34 points their last two games as they suffered defeats to the Browns and New York Jets.

There was a difficult start made by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite the surprise 23-16 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week One, they lost their next three games to go 1-3. However, they have not lost a game since and now sit 5-3-1. Head coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season, but they still have to face the Chargers, Ravens twice, the current AFC number one seed in the Tennessee Titans as well as Cleveland.

Cleveland themselves have to also play the Packers on Christmas Day and the rest of their AFC North rivals, but also get to play a 0-8-1 Detroit Lions and an inconsistent Las Vegas Raiders. Their schedule is fairly favourable, but they have to cut out their own erratic performances if they are to succeed.

Sorting Out Their Own Inconsistencies

The Browns have really struggled for consistency this season. They won three straight games after their opening day loss to the Chiefs but have failed to win consecutive games since. 

If a team is to win championships, then they have to win games consistently. Whilst is it more important how you play in January than how you play in October or November, but you have to make sure you play in January past the regular season.

What have the great New England Patriots sides done in the past? Gotten a consistent run of good form down the stretch. This is exactly what the Browns need to do as runs like this help build momentum and confidence in the crucial postseason games.

The Baker Conundrum

Quarterback Baker Mayfield is easily one of the more polarising players in his position. There are some that feel he is the guy. There are others that view him as nothing more than a ”˜game manager’. 

So far in 2021, he has 1,990 yards, 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. This has him projected to finish the campaign with just under 3,980 yards but crucially just under 18 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. This would have him at around his career best in terms of yardage but his worst season when it comes to touchdown passes.

His career so far has defined patchy. He had amazing seasons in both the 2018 and 2020 campaigns but has been poor in 2019 and 2021. He will be expecting a good season in 2022 judging by how his time as a pro has gone, but there is no guarantee he will earn his new contract. This ends after the conclusion of the 2022 season, which may see him raise his game. He has to be careful that he doesn’t suffer a further dip in form. 

Quarterbacks such as Jimmy Garoppolo and Tua Tagovailoa may be available that would fit into the game manager role and allow the excellent run game to flourish. He will have plenty of suitors due to being the number one overall pick in 2018 and the two excellent seasons he has had but he will want to succeed in Cleveland. This is clear to see. One thing that hasn’t helped is the broken-down relationship with wide receiver OBJ.

The OBJ Dilemma

Say what you want about Odell Beckham Jr, the dynamic around him and Baker’s relationship cannot have helped things in Cleveland. Throughout Beckham’s time in Ohio, the talk of a lack of chemistry between the pair has been a constant talking point.

There is substance to this, with the fact that the Browns made the playoffs last season with Odell injured. 

The loss of running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt to injury hasn’t helped, despite the best efforts of D’Ernest Johnson. The one-two punch of both backs reduced the need for Baker to throw to ball to. Instead, these injuries have meant Baker has had to throw to ball to. This can be seen by his stats, with Baker projected to throw for career highs in completed passes and his second highest total in attempted passes. 

OBJ’s dad has posted videos on social media of the amount of times Beckham has been open and not received the ball. There is clear frustration from the Odell camp. Now that he has gone, along with the return of Chubb and Hunt, will help ease the tension at the franchise. Should the struggles ease, with such a good plethora of offensive and defensive talent, this should see head coach Kevin Stefanski guide them to another playoff appearance (or two). Should things further unravel, then Baker will be vastly looking over his shoulder at Free Agency and the 2023 draft quarterback prospects.

The post Looking at the Browns Inconsistent 2021 Season appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Michael Welsh

Training camp is in full force around the NFL and football is officially back. The Cleveland Browns have one of the most complete rosters in the NFL and are stacked on both sides of the ball. On the offensive side, there is a plethora of talent at wide receiver. In Kevin Stefanski’s run-heavy offense, it will be intriguing to see how he schemes all of this talent week in and week out. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is great at spreading the ball around, so the wide receivers should all get plenty of opportunities. Let’s take a look at stat predictions for Cleveland’s pass catchers going into the 2021 season.

Odell Beckham Jr

Coming off an ACL tear, it is hard to fully know how good OBJ will be this season. All indications point towards a great bounce-back year, though. He is ahead of schedule in his rehab and is looking good in training camp so far. There is a lot of pressure for him and Mayfield to click on all cylinders this year, but people tend to forget that OBJ was having a good season before his injury in 2020. With consistency on the offense in terms of system, scheme, and players, OBJ should enjoy a “Comeback Player of the Year” type season.

85 receptions, 1,220 yards, 9 touchdowns

Jarvis Landry

Since Baker’s 2018 rookie year, Jarvis Landry has been extremely consistent in a Cleveland uniform. Him and Mayfield are almost always on the same page and there is no reason to think that 2021 will be any different. He is never gonna be the guy to stretch the field and catch a lot of touchdowns, but he is clutch and helps move the chains. He should join Beckham in breaking 1,000 yards this season, similar to how they did in 2019.

73 receptions, 1,078 yards, 5 touchdowns

Rashard Higgins

The chemistry between Baker Mayfield and Rashard Higgins is simply incredible. When OBJ went down with his injury in 2020, Higgins stepped up big and made countless big plays on the back half of the season. He will most likely be the third string receiver, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of opportunities for him. There is a good chance Stefanski’s offense will evolve and have more of the receivers involved at once. Higgins isn’t the fastest guy, but he acts a security blanket for Mayfield. Look for him to have a similar year to what he had in 2020.

41 receptions, 520 yards, 5 touchdowns

Donovan Peoples-Jones

There is a decent chance the Donovan Peoples-Jones beats out Rashard Higgins for the third string roster spot. DPJ looked really good as a rookie in 2020 and he is arguably having the strongest camp of any player on the Browns this year. He has bulked up and gotten faster, and one can assume that Stefanski will have to find ways to get him on the field this year. He stepped up big time when OBJ got injured in 2020 and has proven to have great hands at the NFL level. He only had 14 catches in his rookie campaign, but averaged and impressive 20 yards per catch.

26 receptions, 467 yards, 4 touchdowns

Anthony Schwartz

The last wide receiver that will be fighting for playing time is rookie Anthony Schwartz. He definitely needs a lot of time to develop, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have a role in 2021. Being extremely fast, he could help take the top off the defense in certain situations. However, with all of the other talent on the offense, don’t expect him to get a lot of touches. His main role will most likely be on end around and trick plays.

16 catches, 185 yards, 2 touchdowns

The post Projecting the stat lines for the Browns WRs appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

Odell Beckham Jr. has been one of the more intriguing players in the league the last few seasons, for many reasons.  His fiery amped up attitude being one, which is extremely entertaining to watch and makes the Browns “must-watch” football whenever he is on the field.  The other reason being his injury in 2020, which left many people speculating on whether or not he would return to himself in 2021.  

In this article, I will be going over why OBJ will return to form this coming season, as well as what we should be expecting from the (entering) 8^th year wideout.

This is Not His First Injury

While this is the most severe injury OBJ has sustained to date, realistically it is not even close to the first as of now.  To date I count fourteen injuries, which fall into the following categories:

• Hip strains/sprains (two)
• Hamstring tear/sprains (three)
• Lumbar spinal bruising/hernia (three)
• Foot/ankle injuries (three)
• Other (four) i.e. thumb, quad, etc.

With all these injuries, he has only missed 28 games, compared to the 82 that he has played so far, only 19 of the missed games coming prior to this season.  He has been able to bounce back from all his injuries and still do absolutely amazing things on the field, this should not change that.  He has also had an exceptionally long time to heal as it happened mid-season, so he has the nine weeks he missed last year plus all offseason to rehab.

Torn ACLs normally take roughly six to nine months to rehabilitate fully to where it is functional again for the most part.  OBJ injured his ACL on November first of last year, meaning his rehab should complete between April and July this year.  Both of these are prior to the preseason, and even prior to some training camps, which is fantastic news for Browns fans.

Mentality & Tenacity

As I mentioned previously, OBJ is an extremely hard-nosed player most of the time and really fights for every yard on the field.  His emotions on the field should carry into his physical therapy presumably, as he would work his hardest to get back onto the field.  As where some players may take it slow and spend extra time rehabbing, OBJ will do whatever he can to get back on the field as soon as possible.

As long as he does not rush the process too much and takes his time with the correct physical therapy, he should be ready to go for the season.  Another thing to note is these players have some of the best physical therapists in the country no doubt, as teams normally have them on site and hire them based on their credentials realistically.  

Playstyle of OBJ

One of the biggest notions here to focus on is how OBJ’s playstyle would be affected by this injury both in the short and long run.  He primarily runs short to intermediate routes and focuses on YAC type receiving to do the work, as well as contested catches where his hands are the biggest component.  He is not necessarily the shiftiest receiver out there or the fastest, so he likely will not put a ton of pressure on the ACL to perform constantly.

The injury was sustained in a freak accident, not during his routes, which is why I believe this is not a huge cause for concern.  As long as he can keep that knee stable whether that be with compression or other small forms of game padding, he likely should not see any drop-off in his receiving numbers, as they are not reliant on game breaking shifts. 

The post Why will the Cleveland Browns WR1 return to form in 2021? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.