Mid-week thoughts

There seems to be a feeling now that the Browns' defense, the one currently enjoying a rejuvenation of sorts with regard to positive results, has finally come around and become the unit just about everyone expected all season. 

This unpredictable group, clearly the leading culprit as to why the Browns, for the second straight season, will not qualify for the postseason, is repeating its 2021 performance by playing the second half of the season as Dr. Jekyll after opening as Mr. Hyde.

Last season, the defense made up for an awful start by becoming a top 10 team down the stretch. By then, though, the offense was terribly broken and the defense's effort went unrewarded in the standings. That finish sparked positive talk of next season and a momentum carryover.

This season, the offense under an interim quarterback scored often enough to win more than three games after week 11. But the defense, the one with all the momentum generated by last season's terrific finish, didn't stop opposing teams often enough to save those games. 

And here we are doing it all over again this season. After falling as low as 3-7, including a 1-6 stretch, the Browns find themselves finally experiencing something the eluded them -- winning. As in three of the last four games.

The joy of winning has triggered the momentum cry for next season. "At the end of day, we are where we are," said defensive end Myles Garrett recently. "We have to carry that momentum through the end of the season and into next season.

"You want to keep on stacking these wins. When you're looking back, watching film and sitting down with (the coaches) in the offseason, that's really something to fall back upon when you're looking to come into next season hot."

Yep, just like last season when the hot defense last season carried over to this season and opened with a 2-1 record with two close victories before the season collapsed with six losses in the next seven games due mainly to a defense that chilled in a hurry.

So why are the Browns winning now? The defense, which has been battered at linebacker by injuries to key players, is duplicating its second-half performance of a year ago. They are taking opportunism to a level that eluded them in the first 11games of the season when they created just eight turnovers.

In the last three games, they have taken the ball away seven times, including four in the week 13 victory in Houston in Deshaun Watson's debut. However, the offense sputters with Watson commanding the hurdle and that's where, just like last season, the defense has come to the rescue.

The victory over the Baltimore Ravens last Saturday was narrow due mainly to the offense's inability to put points on the board. Even though he looks better with every series, Watson still has just one touchdown pass in three games. He has accounted for just 29 of the last 50 points. 

Defensive coordinator Joe Woods, on and off the hot seat over the last 12 months, is strapped back in despite the recent improvement. He should be. Two years in a row like this is a trend and needs to be addressed. Fans understandably want him gone. Now.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski is not going to cashier Woods now with just three games left, including Saturday's matinee against the New Orleans Saints in the home finale. But if Woods is retained, look for fans to hop off the bandwagon.

Bottom line: If this team continues to play anything other than complementary football in all phases, mediocrity will follow them like a bad dream.