I retired bringing out the soap box, because at this point, it doesn’t matter what I say that will make people change their minds. (Editor’s Note: Really doesn’t work anymore for almost anyone) Is the Cleveland
Browns offense bad right now? Yes. The unit is bad across the board, from the quarterback, offensive line and the skill position group. Collectively, the offense has struggled in every facet of the game and has cost the team games due to not sustaining drives or shooting themselves in the foot.
Could a QB change fix all of this? No.
The unit has issues that stem beyond the quarterback.
Going into training camp, if you followed the team closely and observed what was being said, it was clear that the Browns offense was going back to what worked in 2023 (the year the team made the playoffs). Heavy usage of the run game with play-action concepts. If you go back to 2023, the personnel was different. The offensive line wasn’t old and battered and the wide receiver room wasn’t inexperienced.
People have asked, “What changed and why is the offense so ineffective?”
Let’s start with the obvious. Offensively, the unit lacks talent in every position. Whether it’s quarterback or the right tackle, it’s not much talent collectively as a unit. People were expecting quarterback Joe Flacco to repeat his “Linsanity” level run that he did in 2023, but they were sorely mistaken. I wrote about this multiple times. Flacco isn’t the quarterback that he once was and there was a reason why the Indianapolis Colts chose to bench him last season after the situation with Anthony Richardson.
Flacco’s mobility is shot, and his arm strength is pretty much done at this point. When you have a quarterback who has clear limitations, it hampers what you need to do offensively as a unit. The play action game is not nearly as effective because Flacco is just not mobile, and the passing game varies due to the diminishing velocity in which he throws the ball.
As far as the wide receivers go, it’s an inexperienced group that’s young and inconsistent. Is the talent there? Yes, in some ways, but the room as a whole isn’t good. Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy has been struggling after eclipsing 1,000 yards last season. Jeudy is talented, but it’s clear he’s in his own head and it’s led to crucial drops in crucial situations. Cedric Tillman struggles with staying healthy, as well as having mental lapses (playing in an offense that’s not ideal at Tennessee will do that to you). Rookie Isaiah Bond has made plays, but he has to show a bit more consistency.
Offensively, the talent isn’t there and a QB change won’t fix it.
People are quick to blame head coach Kevin Stefanski for why the offense is struggling, with some of it fair, but some of it is egregious. It’s not an excuse to say that when you lack offensive talent, it makes everything ten times harder. Stefanski can’t make the players catch the ball or block consistently from down to down. It’s a collective effort.
People tend not to understand that football is a team sport. When one guy doesn’t do their job, it makes life harder on everyone else. Last season, the offense was atrocious mainly because the players didn’t mesh with the scheme. This season, it’s more of a lack of talent and execution despite going back to a familiar scheme.
Firing the coach will not solve anything offensively nor will a quarterback change. Can the offense get the short-term issues fixed (i.e, execution and doing their jobs)? Of course, but as far as talent goes, next season is the more likely outcome for the offense getting better.
A quarterback change will not fix the issues that this offense has, as the offense has deeper issues than just the quarterback.
