Opinion: The Browns Choked. And This Time, There Are No Excuses

Photo Credit: oddsshark.com

*Editors Note: Mike McCarthy was the previous coach of the Green Bay Packers, not Kevin McCarthy

Maybe writing this immediately following the crushing 24-19 loss to Denver isn’t the right idea. 

But someone has to do it. I didn’t want to be the one, but the time has come for change to be made and for me to get some things off my chest. 

First of all, we all drank the Kool-Aid. It was irresistible. Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham Jr., Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt(after eight games). This offense was supposed to be a juggernaut. 

Yet, this offense has more often than not looked like a walking corpse, a husk of the potential we saw from last year that got Freddie Kitchens his job.

And speaking of Kitchens, losing this game is a fireable offense. If he isn’t fired by tomorrow, then the Browns are completely done with this season.

Actually, they have been done for a while. It’s only now that Freddie has zero excuses to pin the blame on for this horrific loss.

Yes, refs are missing many obvious flags. Others that have been called have been ticky-tacky. You had five total tonight at Denver. Don’t try to make any excuse. 

You didn’t have a turnover either, and yet you still lose your fourth game in a row after a promising 2-2 start. 

This isn’t about execution or getting things right anymore. This game was your breaking point and now all hope is gone (although I hope I’m dead wrong. However, I’m not holding my breath). 

The defense too has been way overhyped, and it was no more evident than watching Brandon Allen, who had never started a game in the NFL, let alone take a single snap, beat you and your run defense being gashed by Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, with contributions from Allen Himself. 

How about the play-calling itself? Why isn’t Chubb out there on 3rd and 3 and 4th and 1 late in the game in the Red Zone, and Dontrell Hilliard is in there with one of the top-five running backs on the sideline?? INEXCUSABLE!!

The whole idea that the schedule was supposed to get easier in the 2nd half of the year is a load of crap! Arizona came close to knocking off undefeated San Francisco. The Buffalo Bills are a legitimate contender for a wild card. The Pittsburgh Steelers still look competent.

And you have to face Baltimore again in December. 

It’s time to face the facts and declare that this year is a total wash, yet again, and the process needs to start over.

I really did have hope after last year, a rekindled spirit inside of me that this year would change everything, that the torture would stop.

Instead, it feels like we’re still drowning, and barely gasping for breath as you will have to win out to have any chance of a postseason berth. 

On this cool, crisp autumn night in early November 2019, that spirit was snuffed out, just as it was four years ago inside FirstEnergy Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals. 

This act has grown old, and now it’s time to close the Kitchens experiment, begin a search for a new permanent head coach, and reflect on all these mistakes that have needlessly cost you games all year long. Browns fans deserve so much better than the team they’ve been watching this season, and since they came back as an expansion franchise in 1999!

And for as much as I’m bashing Freddie Kitchens, I like the dude. I’m sure if I had a personal conversation with him not related to football, I’d love him.

He wasn’t ready for this job here in Cleveland, and that’s why it’s time to hire someone with experience and can take this team to the next level. Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy is still unemployed, and if I’m John Dorsey, I’m making him a phone call this evening. 

Oh, and John: If you won’t fire Freddie, take away the play-calling from him and give it to offensive coordinator Todd Monken. You’re going to need it if you want any chance at beating the Buffalo Bills this coming Sunday.