Monday leftovers 

It has been a long time coming, but fans are now beginning to see glimpses of a Browns offense that can provide trouble for opposing defenses sooner rather than later.

Even with a raw rookie at quarterback, the Cleveland offense this season has shown distinct improvement over any the fans have witnessed in the last several seasons. And it’s due in large part to coach Hue Jackson.

Gone, it seems, are the days when three-and-outs were commonplace whenever the Browns owned the ball. This attack seems to move the ball with more ease than any Cleveland offense in many, many seasons.

Jackson, with the few exceptions during which he tends to get too cute and calls for his men to do something out of the ordinary, has transformed this unit into a respectable crew that keeps the defense fairly well rested on the bench.

After a slow start, during which the possessions were brief and the punts were frequent, the Jackson offense seems to be catching hold, especially the ground game, which had been a disaster under previous coaching regimes.

A quick perusal of the stats reveals the Browns have racked up 597 yards infantry style this season. That’s nearly 150 yards a game. Extrapolate that out to 16 games and the Browns could wind up with nearly 2,400 yards this season, which would be the highest total since 1978.

A large dose of the credit for that revival goes to the offensive line, which was maligned here earlier this season. But credit given for credit due is in order here and the stats prove it.

The grunts along the front line on offense have helped produce games of 120, 145, 169 and Sunday’s 163 yards in the Washington loss. Yes, all those games wound up as losses, but at least that aspect of the game took valuable time off the clock and, as mentioned previously, kept the defense relatively fresh.

From Joe Thomas at left tackle to Austin Pasztor at right tackle, this line is excellent at blocking for its running backs. Whether it’s a dive play, quick opener, trap play or draw play, everything seems to be working. Left guard Joel Bitonio delivered several devastating trap blocks in the Washington game.

Even screen plays, which were run so poorly before Jackson arrived they were almost totally ignored, have proved mildly successful this season. Mildly successful counts as distinct improvement.

Now factor in the running of Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson Jr. and one can see the seeds beginning to sprout. Crowell, in particular, has been a monster with a football in his grasp. 

He has logged 386 yards, at least half of which have come after his numerous tackle-busting runs. His YAC (yards after catch) standing might be among the best in the National Football League.

Trying to take him down in an open field is getting more difficult by the game. He has been an ankle-tackle away from taking the ball all the way, like he did in the loss to Baltimore, on several occasions. He is getting to the hole quicker and finding a different gear once he hits that hole.

At the same time, the success of the running game has opened up the play-action passing game and quarterback Cody Kessler is taking advantage of it. He has thrown 73 passes since taking over and completed 49 for 467 yards and a touchdown with just one pick in the late stages of Sunday’s loss.

Working with a very young and relatively inexperienced receivers corps, Kessler completes 67% of his passes and seems to be catching on to the nuances of escaping the pocket when in trouble. He was sacked just once against Washington.

It is still going to take some time for the offense to become the unit Jackson expects and there probably will be some burps along the way. But based on what we have seen thus far, those days are not too far off.

Now comes late word that Austin Reiter, the free agent pickup who started at center against the Redskins and played very well, is out for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. (Cue the jinx sounder.)

That injury, suffered on the penultimate Cleveland drive, means John Greco, who moved back to his normal position at right guard, now shifts back to center and either Alvin Bailey or rookie Shane Drango moves in at right guard.

*       *       * 

Staying with the rookie quarterback, Kessler accomplished something rarely, if ever, seen from a quarterback so young and inexperienced to the ways of the NFL. He was 28-of-40 against the Redskins and 11 of those attempts were on third down. He completed all 11, producing eight first downs.

The third-down conversion receivers were Terrelle Pryor, who caught three in the first half, Crowell and tight end Gary Barnidge, who caught two each and rookie wideout Ricardo Louis, who grabbed one. Another example of keeping the chains moving and the defense fresh on the bench.

Kessler came into the NFL with a reputation of being highly accurate and seems to be off to a good start. His biggest drawback is his inability to stretch the field. His arm is slightly above average.

As long as Jackson does not ask the kid to play outside his limitations, there is no reason to believe the Cleveland offense will not embarrass itself until either Josh McCown or Robert Griffin III heal quicker than expected and return. Right now, it seems to be in good hands.

*       *       * 

I was expecting Jackson to utilize Pryor more in the backfield Sunday as he did the week before in Miami. The former Ohio State star took only two snaps in the wildcat. Maybe it’s because Jackson thought the Redskins would be ready for it and decided to shelve the move.

The plays did not work, but neither involved Pryor putting the ball up as he did against the Dolphins. The coach quickly ran away from the notion of making Pryor a slash-type player. Hopefully, that will return this Sunday against New England.

*       *       * 

Washington cornerback Josh Norman, who “went to a dark place” to successfully take Pryor out of the Cleveland offense in the second half after being schooled by the Cleveland receiver in the first half, was flagged for an unusual penalty.

After smartly undercutting a Pryor slant route and picking off Kessler with 6:28 left in regulation and just a four-point lead (24-20), the All-Pro pantomimed a bow-and-arrow celebration, drawing an imaginary arrow from an imaginary quiver and shooting it into the air.

Yellow laundry immediately hit the field. After conferring with the officials who threw the flag, referee Jeff Triplette intoned, “Unsportsmanlike conduct, No. 24 (Norman’s number), shooting a bow and arrow.”

Really? Since when did that one become a part of the NFL’s rules book? I can understand the throat slashing with the thumb, but a bow and arrow draws laundry? C’mon.

It is no different than what major league relief pitcher Fernando Rodney has been doing his entire 14-season career with seven different teams. Once one of baseball best closers, Rodney always does his bow-and-arrow thing whenever he completes a game and picks up a save. He has done it 261 times in that career. And he has yet to be fined or suspended by Major League Baseball.

*       *       * 

Rookie outside linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah and cornerback Jamar Taylor are looking more comfortable as the schedule unfolds. It’s no coincidence Ogbah is getting closer and closer to opposing quarterbacks.

Taylor, who spent three unhappy and non-productive years in Miami before coming to the Browns as a throw-in on an offseason trade, has two of the club’s five interceptions. That’s two more than he had with the Dolphins. His pick Sunday against Washington set up the Browns’ second touchdown.

*       *       * 
And finally . . . Cam Johnson, who signed with the Browns Saturday after fellow outside linebacker Nate Orchard hit season-ending injured reserve, made a terrific debut, logging 2½ of the club’s three sacks of Kirk Cousins. He and Ogbah, both 6-4 and in the 270-pound range, are more in the mold of defensive ends, giving defensive coordinator Ray Horton some interesting options. . . . Taylor, Ogbah and Christian Kirksey led the club in total tackles Sunday with seven each. . . . The defense yielded only 301 yards and limited the Redskins to 56 plays. After taking 11 minutes and 34 seconds off the clock with their first two scoring drives (totaling 20 plays), the Redskins burned only 19 minutes and 29 seconds the rest of the way, due mainly to three Cleveland turnovers, two of which produced points. . . . After watching him kick Sunday, there is nothing wrong with Cody Parkey that a week of practice didn’t cure. He was dead perfect on field goals on 45 and 51 yards with room to spare on each after missing half of his six attempts against Miami. . . . Barnidge is starting to come on with seven catches Sunday for 57 yards. . . . Punter Britton Colquitt was in the game for only five plays: four holds on Parkey placements and just one punt. . . . Washington receiver DeSean Jackson drew 71 yards in penalties on two pass interference calls against the Browns, who totaled 101 overall. . . . Duke Johnson Jr. touches watch: 15 touches for 84 yards and one questionable fumble.

Three turnovers, one loss

The Browns found a unique way to lose their fourth straight game of the season Sunday against the Washington Redskins. They beat themselves. Badly.

Unlike the first three games, the mistakes were small and did not seriously impact the losing outcomes. In the 31-20 loss to the Redskins, however, the mistakes were few, but extraordinarily costly.

The Browns all but handed the Redskins their first victory at home this season after two losses with a pair of fumbles by running backs with the surname Johnson that significantly swung the momentum of the game in the opposite direction.

The Browns had overcome a 14-0 start by Washington on a pair of Jordan Reed touchdown passes from Kirk Cousins on the Redskins’ first two possessions of the game to actually take control.

The Cleveland offense started slowly before looking surprisingly like a very good National Football League offense. It scored on four consecutive possessions, including a pair of touchdowns in a 98-second span in the second quarter, to take a 20-17 lead deep into the third quarter.

Isaiah Crowell was running like the second-leading ground gainer in the NFL that he is, pounding out 99 of his eventual 112 yards and breaking numerous tackles along the way. Washington defenders bounced off him like he was a human bowling ball. On at least two occasions, he was an ankle-trip away from taking it all the way.

Rookie quarterback Cody Kessler, meanwhile, was super efficient, exhibiting unusual poise along the way. He wound up 11-of-11 on third-down passes with eight third-down conversions for the game.

The defense took the offense’s cue and disrupted Cousins’ rhythm, confusing him enough after the early touchdown throws to effectively shut down the Washington offense.

The Browns, playing as well as they have all season on offense, were headed to at least a field goal in the final moments of the third quarter when the gift giving began. Crowell had just ripped off a 14-yard gain on a checkdown pass, breaking at least three tackles along the way, advancing the ball to the Washington 16-yard line.

The Redskins had no answers for the Cleveland attack. Kessler and & Co. were humming and growing more confident with each play. The offensive line. which protected Kessler zealously, looked like a bunch of All-Pros in the ground game.

In no way did the Cleveland offense resemble what fans had witnessed in the first three games. Just about everything worked. It truly was fun to watch

And then coach Hue Jackson experienced a massive brain cramp, one that ultimately pulled the plug on whatever momentum the Browns had built up to that point.

With Crowell on the bench, catching his breath after the 14-yard gain, Jackson chose to get cute. He dialed up a dive play for fullback Malcolm Johnson, who carried the ball exactly zero times in the first three games. He’s a blocking fullback and a damn good one.

Duke Johnson Jr., who had also run well, was available for the first-down play. But no, the other Johnson got the call and the ball and proved why he is a very good blocking fullback.

Redskins defensive end Chris Jones ripped the ball out of Johnson’s grasp, cornerback Quinton Dunbar recovered at the 9-yard line and the consecutive scoring streak was blunted at four. Instead of at least a 23-17 lead on Cody Parkey’s third field goal of the afternoon, the lead remained at three.

As it turned out, Johnson’s fumble was the first of three straight Cleveland turnovers that enabled the Redskins to turn a three-point deficit into the 11-point victory and send the home folks, who were beginning to sense a third straight home loss, home happy.

That’s because the Cleveland defense didn’t pick up the offense, as it had done earlier when Jamar Taylor’s interception set up the second Cleveland touchdown, and reverted to the ground- and aerial-giving crew Cleveland fans are used to.

The Redskins, with new momentum, marched 91 yards in 12 plays to take the lead for good, Chris Thompson taking a swing pass the final six yards for the score.

And then the other Johnson in the Cleveland backfield, the much more reliable Duke Jr., was stripped of the ball three plays later by Washington defensive lineman Ziggy Hood near midfield and recovered by linebacker Will Compton at the Redskins’ 43.

The Cleveland defense stiffened, sacking Cousins twice to force a punt, but Tress Way’s boot stopped bouncing at the Cleveland 2, setting up turnover number three.

After a Crowell eight-yard gain, Kessler dropped back and committed his only big mistake of the afternoon when Washington cornerback Josh Norman, who had been out-dueled by Terrelle Pryor in the first half, undercut a Pryor route and picked off the pass at the Cleveland 39.

Four plays later, Matt Jones, who shredded the Cleveland defense for 117 yards after running for just 150 yards total in the first three games, barely squeezed out the final yard with 4:25 left in regulation.

Norman lined up against Pryor all afternoon and was taken to school by the bigger Cleveland receiver, who had four receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown in the first 30 minutes. Then Norman lived up to his shutdown reputation by shutting Pryor down with only one catch for four yards in the second half.

From the first Johnson fumble to the Jones touchdown, the Browns owned the ball four more times and barely crossed midfield on two occasions, never really threatening a comeback.

Whatever momentum and confidence they had built up in the first 44 minutes of the game evaporated in the final 16 mainly because a veteran head coach placed his trust in a football player he never should have trusted in the first place.

As it turned out, it cost the Browns a really good shot at a victory during a season when victories, albeit few and far between, are that much more precious because they are not expected.

This club keeps coming close, but that’s not good enough. Good clubs that come close usually find a way to win. Bad clubs that come close usually find a way to lose. And that is exactly what Browns fans sadly saw Sunday.

Up next, the very angry New England Patriots,, who were humiliated, 16-0, at home by the Buffalo Bills Sunday. As a side note, it marks the 2016 debut of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, fresh off a four-game suspension.

Oy! As if things couldn’t get any worse.

Not like the old days

The Browns and Washington Redskins have met 45 times over the last 65 years with the Browns owning a 33-11-1 lead in the series.

It has been a series dominated by the Browns, who won the first nine games and constructed subsequent winning streaks of eight and 12 games along the way.

From the 1950s on into the ‘60s and ‘70s right through to the 1980s, it was nothing but win, win, win. Those were the days when beating the Redskins was not only commonplace, it was expected.

Those were the days of Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Mac Speedie, Bill Willis, Len Ford, Bob Gain, Jim Brown, Frank Ryan, Gary Collins, Gene Hickerson, Dick Schafrath, the Pruitts (Greg and Mike), Brian Sipe, Bernie Kosar, Clay Matthews and Ozzie Newsome.

We’re talking about some of the all-time great players whose contributions helped make Cleveland one of the most respected franchises in the National Football League.

Those were the days, for the most part, before the American Football League, the days before the Browns and Redskins were eventually separated by conferences, the Browns in the American and the Redskins in the National.

But that was then. And this is now. Remembering what it was like back then is a lot more comforting than remembering what it has been for the last 17 plus seasons.

And now, for only the fourth time since Cleveland returned to the NFL scene back in 1999, the Browns and Redskins, who now face each other only once every four years, will meet Sunday afternoon in the national’s capital.

This was a game Cleveland quarterback Robert Griffin III no doubt had circled as extra special since it was to have marked a return to a place where he achieved glory and massive disappointment in a three-year period.

It is a game he will watch, instead, as a spectator on the sideline with a broken left shoulder, held in place by a sling after he unsuccessfully impersonated a battering ram in the final moments of the season-opening loss in Philadelphia.

While with the Redskins, The Third went from wunderkind quarterback as a rookie in 2012 to free agency – and the Browns – four short years later. The freefall, caused by injuries and a dramatic falloff in production, was climaxed by his benching in 2014 after winning only five of 20 games in his next two seasons.

It was during that sensational rookie season that the Redskins last played the Browns. And it was the only game that season The Third missed. A knee injury, a precursor to his eventual downfall, forced the Redskins to go with backup quarterback Kirk Cousins that Dec. 16 afternoon in Cleveland.

Cousins was a rookie at the time, drafted in the fourth round as insurance against anything catastrophic happening to The Third. When the Redskins decided to give their starter a one-week respite, Cousins got the call and gave a performance that served as an audition that eventually turned into a full-time gig.

The former Michigan State quarterback led the Redskins, who trailed, 14-10, at the half, to a 38-21 victory, throwing for 329 yards and a pair of scoring passes to Leonard Hankerson, the only passes he caught that day.

For the record, Brandon Weeden threw for 244 yards and a long touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin for the Browns but threw a couple of interceptions. Running back Trent Richardson also scored on a pair of short-yardage runs in the first half.

Cousins, who became the starter last season, is coming his strongest game of the season, a 296-yard, two-touchdown effort in a victory over the New York Giants and becoming more comfortable in the pass-heavy Washington offense.

There is no question the Cleveland secondary will be extremely busy Sunday, trying to stay with the likes of wide receivers Jamison Crowder, DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon and tight end Jordan Reed. This quartet has racked up 59 receptions for 738 yards and three touchdowns in three games this season.

The very average Washington ground game averages only 76 yards a game mainly because coach Jay Gruden has Cousins dropping back on nearly two out of every three plays. The strength of the team on offense is clearly through the air, so why not lean on it.

Defense is where the Skins find trouble, allowing 123 yards a game on the ground (425 a game overall) with a secondary that allows opposing quarterbacks to complete 70% of their passes. That secondary includes Josh Norman and DeAngelo Hall, a couple of very good cornerbacks.

Keep an eye on the Washington pass rush, which has produced seven sacks. The leaky Cleveland offensive line has permitted 10 sacks, numerous quarterback hits and nearly 30 hurries in their three losses.

The big question is whether the Cleveland offense, which has averaged a measly 17 first downs a game and scored only five touchdowns, can take advantage of what seems to be a defense ready to be taken advantage of.

It showed positive signs of coming to life in last week’s tough loss in Miami. Due in large part to the insertion of Terrelle Pryor as a part-time quarterback in addition to his receiving duties, the offense moved the ball with seeming ease after a shaky start by rookie quarterback Cody Kessler.

But now that Redskins coaches have tape of Pryor’s big week last Sunday against the Dolphins, his versatility and the way in which Cleveland coach Hue Jackson uses him is no longer a surprise. Unless, of course, the execution is as good as last Sunday, in which case the Browns could very well hang with the Redskins.

The Cleveland running game has helped immensely this season by churning out nearly 145 yards a game, a testament to run blocking strength of the offensive line. It will be interesting to see whether Jackson ratchets up the run-pass ratio to the point where the run sets up the pass and play-fake passes work.

But the defense has to keep the score close in order for the run game to become the major portion of the offense. If the Redskins jump out to an early substantial lead, that aspect of the offense disappears.

One incentive not mentioned in the run-up to the game is the Redskins’ inability to win at home this season, having dropped their first two games to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys in front of the home folks.

The outcome of this one will hinge largely on how often the Cleveland pass rush can get close enough to Cousins to disrupt his rhythm. The very good offensive line in front of him has allowed just four sacks this season.

If he is given as much time to unload as the first three quarterbacks the Browns have faced this season, this one could get out of hand early, very early. At the same time, it would allow the Redskins to polish off a running game that seems to have been shelved to a large degree in favor of the forward pass.

When predicting how the Browns would do on a game-by-game basis, I had them winning this game due the revenge factor for The Third. But since he’ll be a mere spectator, I see Cousins in a repeat performance of the 2012 game.

He throws touchdown passes to Jackson, Garcon and Reed and runs for one himself on a naked bootleg and kicker Dustin Hopkins, perfect on 11 field goals this season, adds three more.

The Browns counter with a pair of Isaiah Crowell touchdowns in the first half and a Kessler-Pryor connection late in the second half. Far too little and way too late. Make it:

Redskins 37, Browns 21

Thinking about Josh Gordon

Two schools of thought after Josh Gordon suddenly and surprisingly decided to put his National Football League career on hold and enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility in an effort to straighten out his life.

The first thought was the young wide receiver’s selfishness in teasing the team and fans into believing he would resume his career next week after serving three different National Football League suspensions over the last two seasons for drug abuse.

He was eligible to rejoin the team next week and play in the Browns’ Oct. 9 game at home against the New England Patriots. No word out of Berea indicated there would be a change in course. The timing of this announcement, if nothing else, is curious.

Gordon, whose mercurial and briefly spectacular career has lifted the hopes of the team and its fans for the future, dropped the bomb Thursday in the form of a statement released by the Browns.

“After careful thought and deep consideration, I have decided that I need to step away from pursuing my return to the Browns and my football career to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility,” said Gordon in the statement.

“This is the right decision for me and one I hope will enable me to gain full control of my life and continue on a path to reach my full potential as a person. I appreciate the support of the NFL, NFLPA, the Browns, my teammates, my agent and the community through this extremely challenging process.”

If that’s the way he feels, and there is no reason to disbelieve it, why did he wait so long to share it with all the parties involved? That’s a question that might never be answered.

In late August, shortly before playing in the final exhibition game of the season against Chicago, Gordon reflected on playing in the previous exhibition against Tampa Bay when he caught two passes, one for a touchdown.

He said it gave him “that sense of nostalgia (that) this is where I belong; this is where I need to be; this stage was meant for me to play on. That’s what I’m meant to do. Just doing it consistently and being here for this team. That’s really where it starts at and that’s what I want to do.”

Something changed between then and now. Maybe in a moment of weakness he caved and abused drugs and didn’t want to face yet another suspension, this time probably for life.  Then again, maybe not. But until Gordon speaks on the record, we will never find out.

The Browns responded to Gordon’s decision with a reasoned reaction. “We support Josh in taking this step to seek additional help and treatment,” said Sashi Brown, the club’s head of football operations. “His singular focus must be on his own health.”

And that brings us to thought No. 2.

Brown is correct. Right now, getting his life together should be the 25-year-old Gordon’s singular focus. Of course, there was no selfishness in his decision Life is too short and often times too complicated to squander at such a young age.

Makes no difference whether he woke up one morning and a light went on or his motivation came from somewhere else. More power to him. Making such a move is difficult in so many different ways.

It’s an admission of weakness. And that’s not easy to do for an athlete who has supreme confidence in what he does on a football field. Separating that and what he does off the field is not easy.

Sometimes the first step is the most difficult one to take on the road to recovery. Gordon deserves to be commended for taking this bold step of getting his seemingly out- of-control life in order.

It has happened before in the NFL. Wide receiver Cris Carter had a bad drinking problem when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles. Being cut by the Eagles served as a jolt for the former Ohio State star.

He rehabilitated himself at a young age, went on to a great career with the Minnesota Vikings and eventually wound up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 2013. He would be a good role model for Gordon.

And now that he has taken the first steps necessary toward recovery, Gordon should be applauded. He is finally making the correct move, better than any move he ever made on a football field.

Whether his days as a member of the Cleveland Browns are over is a moot point right now. That’s not important. Josh Gordon, the person, is much more important than Josh Gordon, the football player.

Monday leftovers (Dolphins) 

The question is bound to come up quite often now that Carson Wentz has, at least in his first three games as a professional, taken the National Football League by storm.

How in the world did the Browns pass on this guy when he was available with the second selection of the last NFL college draft?  Was this a replay of the 2004 lottery when the Browns passed on Ben Roethlisberger to take Kellen Winslow Jr.?

What’s that about lightning striking twice?

It was bad enough the Browns turned their backs on taking a future Hall of Famer – and an Ohioan, no less – in Roethlisberger. What’s worse is Big Ben was grabbed by the hated-with-a-passion Pittsburgh Steelers and has been fitted for a couple of Super Bowl rings.

The Browns have been searching for a franchise quarterback ever since returning to the league in 1999. They thought they had one in Tim Couch back in ’99 when Donovan McNabb would have been a better choice.

Now, 26 different starting quarterbacks later, they are still searching. Each year, especially those in which the Browns own extremely high picks and solid quarterbacks loom large, the big question arises and is not answered properly.

Will this be the year they finally make the correct choice for the most important position on the team? That question arrived again this past draft when Jared Goff of California and Wentz of North Dakota State topped the list.

The Browns, sitting at No. 2, said no thanks and traded down with the Philadelphia Eagles. And the reason they gave their fans came off as weak. It came through Paul DePodesta, the club’s chief strategy officer (whatever that is).

“In a given year, there may be two or three NFL-ready quarterbacks at the college level,” DePodesta told ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi at the beginning of training camp. “In another year, there literally may be zero. There just may not be anybody that year not good enough to be a top 20 quarterback in the NFL.

“Even though you have a desperate need for one, you have to resist the temptation of taking that guy just because you have a need if you don’t believe he is one of those 20 guys at the end of the day. That’s the hardest part, just maintaining your discipline because you have the need. That’s what we did this year.”

Right now, not selecting Wentz looks bad. Real bad. The Eagles are 3-0 and looking good, real good, after throttling the Pittsburgh Steelers, 34-3, on Sunday. The Browns are 0-3 and heading for what could be the worst season in their history.

Even Roethlisberger criticized the Browns for taking a pass on Wentz, who is his physical equal at 6-5, 240 pounds. And that was before the Sunday loss in Philadelphia.

Some day, DePodesta’s words have a chance of landing in the Browns’ Hall of Fame of utterances that should never have been made, right up there with “best pure pass rusher” and “mad dog in a meat market.”

Hue Jackson had to be part of that kind of thinking. Can’t imagine what the Cleveland coach didn’t see in Wentz that the Eagles did to the point where they gave up their top pick next year to move up and grab him.

So far, Wentz has shown intelligence, discipline and poise, attributes that usually accompany success for quarterbacks in the NFL. And he has the size and arm to complete the package. In those three games, he has thrown 102 passes, completed 66 for 769 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions.

Yes, it’s only three games with the weak Browns and Chicago Bears providing the opposition in the first two. But Wentz’s performance in Sunday’s rout of the Steelers sure opened up a lot eyes and rekindled the “Why didn’t the Browns take Wentz when they had the chance?” howls.

“Again,” DePodesta said, “it comes down to individual evaluation of a player. We will not always be right on those type of things.” He got that part correct. So far.

*       *       *

Austin Pasztor stands 6-7 and weighs nearly 310 pounds. He is the starting right tackle for the Browns along the offensive line. And Sunday down in Miami, he was as offensive an offensive lineman as you’ll see in the NFL. At least he was when the play called for a forward pass.

Pasztor replaced the eminently better Mitchell Schwartz at the position when the Browns, in their infinite wisdom, decided to let Schwartz test the free-agent market without tendering an offer. He decided he liked it better in Kansas City,

So whether or not you like it, Browns fans, Pasztor is your right tackle for better or worse. And when the game was over Sunday afternoon, worse had a huge lead on better.

The four-year pro was assigned to keep Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake from getting anywhere close to rookie Cody Kessler, who was making his professional debut, on pass plays. He didn’t.

Pasztor drew three flags for holding and two more for false starts. If he didn’t have nightmares just thinking about facing Wake before the game, he sure has good reason to have them after getting up-close-and-personal with the veteran defensive end, who is a shell of his former self after an Achilles injury last season.

Pasztor accounted for 40 of the Browns’ 91 penalty yards all by himself. Kind of makes one wonder what went into the thinking by the Cleveland front office in letting Schwartz escape? In his worst game, Schwartz never put up a performance like that.

To be fair, Pasztor blocked well in the run game. But penalties slow down drives and in some cases shorten them. Five such infractions are momentum killers and inexcusable.

*       *       *

So who is this Briean Boddy-Calhoun? You know, the guy who put the Browns’ first touchdown of the game on the board against the Dolphins Sunday with a pick-6 in the second quarter in his first NFL game.

Here is what NFL.com’s draft analysis said about the 5-9, 195-pound rookie cornerback from the University of Minnesota, who was nothing more than a line of agate in NFL transactions when the Browns picked him up on waivers from Jacksonville a few weeks ago.

“Bottom line: Small cornerback who played outside and from the slot, but must become a full-time slot cornerback on the next level due to his lack of strength and size. (He) allowed entirely too much separation at times and has a difficult time mustering enough closing speed when beaten over the top. . . . Gets overwhelmed by size in the red zone. Gave up a whopping six touchdowns in 2015. Tackling in the pros could be a major issue.”

Boddy-Calhoun, forced into action Sunday when Joe Haden was deactivated with a groin injury, also made four tackles, three solo, but was burned by DeVante Parker on the Dolphins’ first touchdown, a 26-yard strike from Ryan Tannehill in the opening quarter.

*       *       *

After a rough start against the Dolphins, Cody Kessler settled down and had what can be generously described as a decent game. The rookie quarterback was 21-of-33 for 244 yards despite intense pressure most of the afternoon. Not bad under the circumstances.

What we did find out is he doesn’t have the arm strength to stretch the field like Josh McCown and Robert Griffin III can, but showed good accuracy on short- to medium-range passes. He needs to work on ball security, though, showing a tendency to hold the ball in such a fashion it becomes a welcoming target for oncoming pass rushers.

He also has a tendency to take too long to find open receivers and an unwillingness to escape the pocket when it collapses. Then again, this is something he is expected to learn as he gets more comfortable with his new role.

*       *       *

As for the defense, Jordan Poyer, Christian Kirksey and Danny Shelton turned in strong games. Poyer, it seemed, was just about everywhere. The free safety was in on 13 of the Dolphins’ 65 plays, making 10 stops alone and aiding on three others.

Eight of Kirksey’s nine tackles were solos, while Shelton’s four solo tackles and solid anchoring of the defensive line limited the Dolphins to just 115 yards and only one touchdown on the ground.

*       *       *

Now that we’ve seen what Terrelle Pryor can do in his Slash role with the Browns, it will be interesting to see how Jackson incorporates him even more into the game plan against the Washington Redskins Sunday. The only difference is it won’t be a surprise this time. And you can bet the Skins will make certain shutdown cornerback Josh Norman will pay close attention to Pryor when he isn’t behind center.

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There was a report Sunday that Jackson and his coaches wanted the club to sign veteran placekicker Robbie Gould, recently released by the Chicago Bears, to replace Patrick Murray after he was injured in practice Friday. But, according to the report, the coaches were overruled by the front office poobahs, who preferred Cody Parkey. The newcomer made half of his six field-goal attempts.

(Update: Jackson contradicted the report. “We made an organizational decision that (Parkey) was the right guy for us,” he told the Cleveland media Monday. “We felt good about watching him kick on tape. We felt good about everything he was doing. . . And we all made the decision together. . . . Any decision that’s made here about our football team we make together. If there’s anything that comes out of this building, it should come from me, okay? Not from anybody else. . . . We took the guy we wanted.”)

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And finally . . . Jackson must get plays in much quicker to Kessler, avoiding those maddening delay-of-game penalties. . . . Right guard Alvin Bailey served as the tipster to center John Greco on when Kessler wanted the snap while in shotgun or pistol formation . . . . The Browns ran a season-high 74 plays for a season-high 430 total yards and owned the ball for a season-high 37 minutes and 22 seconds. . . . The pass-to-run ratio also reached a season high of 57%-43% pass-to-run. . . . Miami receiver Jarvis Landry was held to only one catch for four yards in the first half. He responded with six catches for 116 yards and a TD the rest of the way. . . . Ricardo Louis, it seems, has worked his way ahead of fellow rookie wide receiver Rashard Higgins with a three-catch, 40-yard afternoon against the Dolphins. . . . Where was rookie outside linebacker Joe Schobert? He was not deactivated. If he played, it was not noticeable. . . . Duke Johnson Jr. touches watch: 15 touches for 81 yards. Much better. Now keep them coming.

Pryor's masterpiece all for naught

The disgusted look on Terrelle Pryor’s face said it all as time ran out in regulation Sunday in Miami. He had good reason to wear that look. Here’s why.

Seconds earlier, linebacker Corey Lemonier made what just about every member of Browns Nation on the planet believed was the play of the game, strip-sacking Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill and recovering the ball at the Miami 27-yard line. It was a gift.

The Browns had battled back from a 24-13 deficit early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 24-24 on Cody Parkey’s third field goal of the game with 3:14 left and were staring at something extremely rare to them: a victory.

Hue Jackson had 20 seconds left on the clock in regulation and a timeout in his back pocket. Surely enough time and insurance in case something went wrong to move the ball closer to the Miami goal line to make Parkey’s job that much easier.

What went wrong was totally unexpected. For whatever reason, Jackson went ultra conservative with those 20 precious seconds.

The Cleveland running game, with Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson Jr. running well, had churned out 160 yards on the ground against a tiring Dolphins defense and rookie Cleveland quarterback Cody Kessler had recovered from early-game jitters.

So what does the coach do? Instructs Kessler to take a knee, run the clock down to four seconds, burn the last timeout and present Parkey, who had signed with the club after Patrick Murray went down with a knee injury Friday, with a 46-yard attempt.

Instead of trying to pound out more yardage with Crowell behind an offensive line that run blocked very well all afternoon, Jackson went conservative. Parkey’s subsequent boot never had a chance as it immediately drifted left of the upright, giving birth to overtime.

It took the Dolphins three plays on their second possession of overtime to nail the 30-24 victory. Jay Ajayi’s 11-yard scamper around left end, on which no Cleveland defender laid a hand on him, climaxed the three-play, 44-yard drive with 8:26 left.

The disappointing finish ruined a virtuoso performance by Pryor, who was an integral part in Jackson’s creative offense from a two-position standpoint. He was the ultimate triple threat.

Any wonder he wore a disgusted, almost angry, look as regulation ended? Jackson’s faux pas at the end of regulation breathed new life into a Miami offense that seemingly packed it in after assuming the 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

After the game, the coach explained himself. “I know everybody will say it came down to field goals,” he said, “but I’m not going to put that kind of pressure on Cody. (He) just got off the plane with us and I don’t know him as well as I know this chair right now.”

That’s a rather strange reason not to at least try and move the ball closer to the goal line. And by taking a knee, he definitely put more pressure on the newcomer. Besides, what does that have to do with a chair in the visitors’ dressing room?

Was Jackson so fearful his offense would somehow, some way screw it up? Why all of a sudden did he have so little confidence in his offense to move the ball closer? He did have the luxury of the timeout. Instead, he whimped out. 

On the plus side, the Browns were down to only one healthy quarterback (Kessler) with working knowledge of Jackson’s offense. It didn’t take long for fans to see what the coach had in his bag of tricks. It was the 6-4, 220-pound Pryor and he was masterful.

The former Ohio State star, who had flunked out as a starting quarterback in the National Football League, entered the game after Kessler’s shaky beginning: A delay-of-game on the first play from scrimmage, a fumbled snap on the second (he recovered it) and a strip sack on the third, which led to Miami’s first touchdown.

Pryor took 11 snaps as a quarterback, ran four times for 21 yards and a touchdown in the comeback, and threw for another 35 yards on 3-of-5 passing. He was also targeted 14 times by Kessler and grabbed eight passes for 144 yards. If you’re counting, that’s 200 yards of total offense. The Browns totaled 430.

It brought back memories of Kordell Stewart, who played quarterback and wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1995 to 2002. Remember his nickname? Slash. As in quarterback/wide receiver.

Could Pryor, whose growth in his transformation as a wideout has been nothing short of remarkable thus far, be the new Slash? Why not?

With the Browns down to just one healthy quarterback (not counting Charlie Whitehurst, who is nothing more than disaster insurance), look for Pryor to get more work if Sunday’s performance against the Dolphins is any indication of what he can do. Or at least until one of the injured quarterbacks returns.

One can understand Pryor's reaction when Parkey missed his third field goal of the afternoon at the end of regulation. Putting in the work of two players for more than 60 minutes only to walk off the field a loser had to maddeningly disheartening.

The Browns, playing without six starters, actually held a 13-10 halftime lead in this one on a pair of Parkey field goals and a 27-yard pick six by rookie cornerback Brien Boddy-Calhoun midway through the second quarter.

They were marching toward another score on the penalty-filled opening possession of the second half and reached the Miami 8 in 10 plays before stalling. A holding penalty on offensive right tackle Austin Pasztor – he was flagged for three holds and a pair of false starts on the afternoon – moved the ball back to the 18.

Another delay-of-game penalty marched the ball back another five yards and the drive ultimately wound up on the Miami 24, where Parkey’s 42-yard field-goal effort plunked the left upright and bounced the wrong way.

That seemed to breathe new life into the Miami offense, which looked stagnant in the first 30 minutes. It scored on the next two possessions to take the 24-13 lead.

Tannehill hooked up with Jarvis Landry on a 42-yard score after the wide receiver beat Tramon Williams and juked safety Derrick Kindred at the 13-yard line on the first with 5:17 left in the quarter. Then he hit running back Damien Williams with an 11-yard swing pass to close out a six-play, 64-yard drive early in the final quarter.

At that point, the Browns looked cooked and nearly replied with a three-and-out. But Duke Johnson Jr. kept the drive alive, breaking a tackle a few yards behind the line of scrimmage on a swing pass on a third-and-1 from the Miami 26 and converting.

Six plays and 74 yards later, Pryor romped three yards around left end for the touchdown and Kessler’s fade to Gary Barnidge tacked on two more points as the Browns climbed to within three at 24-21. They had to survive a strip sack of Kessler by Cameron Wake, who was flagged for being offsides.

Parkey’s 38-yard field with 3:41 left in regulation squared the score, setting up what looked like a Cleveland victory once Lemonier separated the ball from Tannehill and recovering it at the Miami 27.

And then Jackson began thinking negatively a little too much, depriving his team – and the fans – of feeling good for at least the next few days. Such opportunities will not come along often this season.

The ineptitude continues

It seems the Miami Dolphins, who entertain the Browns Sunday down in Florida, have encountered similar problems to their visitors thus far this season.

The Dolphins’ defense surrenders way too much yardage, can’t stop the run and has trouble getting off the field on third down, and an offense that can’t run the ball, protect its quarterback or remain on the field.

Sound familiar?

The only difference, it seems, will be the uniforms. Otherwise, at least statistically, these teams have taken almost the same winless path in the first two games.

The Dolphins couldn’t hold a 10-6 lead late in the season opener in Seattle and lost in the final 30 seconds. Last Sunday in Foxboro, the Patriots took advantage of three Miami turnovers in their home debut, raced out to a 31-3 lead before the Dolphins caught up and made the 31-24 final look more respectable.

The biggest difference, especially on offense, is the Dolphins are healthier than the Browns. Not by much with running back Arian Foster iffy for the game with a groin injury, but definitely in better shape. If he can’t go, look for Isaiah Pead or Jay Ajayi to start.

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(This just in: It’s official. Browns quarterback Josh McCown has a broken left collarbone. It is not a displaced break, which means it’s probably a hairline fracture. It will sideline him indefinitely.)

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The Browns, on the other hand, open up with a quarterback making his National Football League debut, a wide receivers corps that can be best described as marginal and a makeshift offensive line due to an injury.

Defensively, the much more experienced Dolphins have an edge, although statistics in the first couple of games belie that. That defense has given up 815 yards, including 457 in the loss to the Pats last week.

The Miami defense includes ends Cameron Wake and Mario Williams and tackles Ndamukong Suh and Jordan Phillips along the line and Kiko Alonso anchoring the linebackers corps. Hard to believe the Dolphins would give up that much yardage with talent like that.

Wake, who terrorized quarterbacks for so many seasons with the Dolphins before suffering an Achilles’ tendon injury midway through last season, has become a part-time player, sharing duties with Andre Branch. That pass rush has produced five sacks. The Browns check in with two, both in the season opener.

The Dolphins, as the Browns, are vulnerable just about everywhere when the opposition is on the field. They surrender about 290 yards a game through the air and about 130 infantry style.

Only problem there is the Cleveland offense is so weak now with a raw rookie at quarterback, an offensive line that does not afford quarterbacks nearly the time they need to be effective and question marks just about everywhere else, it very well could be the tonic the Miami defense needs to feel good about itself.

The Browns average slightly less than 25 minutes a game in ball ownership, while the defense permits the opposition to convert nearly half of its third downs. Hardly a formula for success.

At the beginning of the season, coach Hue Jackson emphasized his offense would be more well balanced than the past few seasons when passing easily outpaced the run game.

Well, the Browns have run 109 plays – a puny total for two games – and ran the ball only 44 times. That’s 40.4% of the time. You can figure out the passing ratio. So where’s the balance?

With Cody Kessler at quarterback now, that run percentage might rise, especially after Isaiah Crowell’s big game against Baltimore last Sunday. Detractors would point out, though, that 85 of Crowell’s season output of 195 yards came on one run. Subtract the 85 and he averages 3.8 yards a carry.

The Browns’ best bet to win this one rests with the defense, especially the secondary. Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill averages one pass every three plays and is accurate on 65% of his passes.

His favorite targets are wideouts Jarvis Landry (17 receptions for 194 yards) and DeVante Parker (eight catches for 106 yards) and former Browns tight end Jordan Cameron (seven grabs for 55 yards and a touchdown).

If the Browns do not get enough penetration against Miami’s average-at-best offensive line, it will be a long afternoon for the backfield. In order to give the secondary a chance, defensive coordinator Ray Horton needs to dial up more blitzes to make Tannehill feel at least somewhat uncomfortable.

That includes occasional run blitzes against a Miami ground game that has produced just 134 yards this season. To give you some idea of just how bad that run game is, Tannehill is the leading rusher with 52 yards on scrambles.

That both teams seek their first victory of the young season tells you all you need to know about the talent level of this game. That this is the Dolphins’ home opener gives rise to the reason they are the league’s only double-digit favorite to win this week. It also tells you how little oddsmakers think of the Browns.

Unless the wheels come completely off for the Browns defensively, this should be a low scoring game. The offense will struggle and force punter Britton Colquitt to more than earn his salary.

Both teams are coming off games they registered three-touchdown explosions within a small time frame. The Browns early against Baltimore; the Dolphins late against New England.

That won’t happen Sunday. The Dolphins’ defense puts together an effort similar to the season-opening loss in Seattle and throttles a weak Cleveland offense all afternoon, limiting it to 185 yards and only 11 first downs. An ineffective Kessler is sacked five times and replaced by Charlie Whitehurst.

Patrick Murray provides the only offense with a couple of field goals as the Browns reach the red zone just twice. (Update: Murray suffered a knee injury Friday and has been placed on injured reserve. The Browns signed Cody Parkey to replace him. He will boot those field goals.)

Tannehill, with little pressure from the Cleveland pass rush, throws touchdown passes to Landry and Cameron and scores on a naked bootleg from a yard out in a game that will, for all practical purposes, be over midway through the third quarter. Make it:

Dolphins 24, Browns 6

Woebegone Browns

It’s official. There is no more star-crossed franchise in the National Football League, if not the entire sports world, than the one located in Cleveland, Ohio, known as the Browns.

There is such a dark cloud that seemingly hangs perpetually over the team’s headquarters in Berea, the team’s nickname should be changed to the Curse or the Misfortunes.

A line from Bad Luck Blues, a rhythm and blues song in 1954 by Lightnin’ Slim, aptly describes what has happened to this franchise since its resurrection in 1999: Lord, if it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.

It’s almost as though this team was, to slightly alter the title of another rhythm and blues song written in 1967: (re)Born Under A Bad Sign.

It wasn’t bad enough the Browns were already working on their third starting quarterback in three games. Or that the rookie defensive lineman who had shown signs of becoming a force has broken a hand. Or that the second-year center has a bruised lung.

Two games in the books and the team is already looking like a unit in a M*A*S*H hospital. What else could go wrong? When will all this nonsense stop? Better yet, will it ever stop?

When news broke late Tuesday that Browns rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman had also broken a bone in his hand – what difference does it make which hand? – in practice earlier in the day, all those R&B thoughts jumped front and center.

Is there a permanent cloud of misfortune hanging over the Browns’ complex? Even when the sun is purportedly beaming down? Why don’t these unfortunate occurrences happen to other NFL teams? Rhetorical question.

Then again, perhaps this team is suffering from the lingering effects of the Joe Bftsplk Syndrome. Bftsplk is a character in the syndicated comic strip Li’l Abner, which ran from 1934 to 1977.

Joe was a walking jinx, hovering at all times under a dark rain cloud. He was a loner who brought bad luck and extreme misfortune to those who encountered or were near him. Maybe he has quietly taken up residence in Berea all these years.

As for Coleman, who didn’t know his hand was broken until X-rays revealed it after practice, the good news is he will not require surgery to repair the injury. The bad news is he will miss at least a month, maybe more. Surgery most likely would have meant missing most of the season.

The club’s No. 1 pick in the last draft was beginning to show signs of adjusting well to the pro game, scoring both of the Browns’ touchdowns on passes from Josh McCown in the loss last Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens, when Bftsplk struck.

Coleman’s ability to stretch the field enabled other receivers to run underneath routes somewhat more successfully.

His absence means everyone else moves up a notch on the wide receiver ladder. Terrelle Pryor, in really his first season as a wideout, becomes the No. 1 target with veteran Andrew Hawkins, a concussion away from probably retiring, on the other side. The 6-4 Pryor and 5-7 Hawkins form an interesting Mutt & Jeff combination.

Rashard Higgins most likely moves up as the slot receiver with either Jordan Payton and/or Ricardo Louis entering the game in a four- and/or five-receiver set for starting quarterback – and rank neophyte – Cody Kessler.

Anyway you shake it, the Browns enter the game down in Miami on Sunday extraordinarily young and inexperienced at the so-called skill positions.

Yet another challenge for Hue Jackson, the Browns’ offensive coordinator/play caller, as if his job as the head coach wasn’t challenging enough.

Two newbies, two departures

If you’re keeping score on the latest dealings by the Browns’ front office, say so long to inside linebacker Scooby Wright III and defensive end John Hughes and hello to quarterback Charlie Whitehurst and center Austin Reiter.

In the wake of a Sunday loss to Baltimore that saw rookie defensive end Carl Nassib sustain a broken hand, center Cameron Erving suffer a bruised lung and quarterback Josh McCown come up with some sort of shoulder injury, the fluid roster became even more fluid Tuesday.

In the process, that roster became even weaker than it was at the start of the 25-20 loss Sunday to the Ravens.

The already mediocre offensive line dipped in quality with John Greco moving from right guard to center to replace Erving and Alvin Bailey, who has been a spectator in the first two games, moving in at right guard.

The right side of the line on offense is bad to begin with and the latest moves take the talent level down another couple of notches. One can only imagine what kind of protection rookie quarterback Cody Kessler will receive in his National Football League debut Sunday in Miami against the Dolphins.

He’ll be working with a center who hasn’t played the position since temporarily filling in for Alex Mack when the center went down with a broken leg in game five of the 2014 season.

Bailey, a young veteran at 25, couldn’t beat out the very average Austin Pasztor at right tackle in training camp. We’ll find out soon enough whether he can cut it at guard. He’ll face Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh most of the afternoon on Sunday.

Picking up Reiter off the Washington Redskins’ practice squad gives Browns coaches some options in case the Greco-Bailey duo falters against the Dolphins, who have dialed up five sacks in the first two games this season. Greco can move back to guard with Reiter off the bench in the pivot.

It’s interesting the coaches have kept rookies Shon Coleman and Spencer Drango as backups to tackles Joe Thomas and Pasztor on the depth chart. Apparently, neither has been impressive enough to warrant at least a small look elsewhere.

The release of Hughes and Wright raised a few eyebrows. It is believed the recent arrival of free-agent ends Stephen Paea and Tyrone Holmes might have led to Hughes’ departure.

Wright, the club’s seventh-round pick last May, was inactive for the first two games after an exhibition season that saw him flash on a few occasions. The Browns hope he clears waivers so they can place him on the practice squad.

It is known the Arizona Cardinals had planned to sign Wright, a former University of Arizona standout, to their practice squad had he made it through the college draft without being selected. Now they have a chance to do just that.

Whitehurst, meanwhile, will back up Kessler against the Dolphins and cram as much as he can between now and Sunday to grasp coach Hue Jackson’s offense. It would appear rookie quarterback Kevin Hogan will remain on the practice squad.

Monday leftovers

Will lightning strike the Browns’ quarterbacks corps a third time in three weeks? That’s what Cody Kessler must be wondering today.

The rookie third-round pick in the last college football draft is your new starting quarterback when the Browns travel down to Miami to take on the Dolphins Sunday afternoon.

That’s right . . . three games, three different starters at the most important position on the team.  Down goes Robert Griffin III in the season opener in Philadelphia. Down goes Josh McCown in the home opener against Baltimore. Each with left shoulder issues.

The Third won’t be back for at least two more months. The situation with McCown is a little more vague after he underwent tests Monday.

The veteran quarterback, who absorbed a frightful beating in the Baltimore loss Sunday, is listed as week to week, which could mean anything from just the Miami game to sitting out as long as The Third.

Kessler, the wet-behind-the-ear kid from USC, is about to find out what it’s like to play a National Football League regular-season game where the speed and quickness is totally different than in exhibition games and training camp.

Kessler, you’ll recall, is also the kid about whom coach Hue Jackson all but said, “Trust me on this guy,” when there were more highly ranked quarterbacks on the board. Well, it’s time to play “Who Do You Trust?”

Kessler’s promotion means Kevin Hogan, another quarterback with damp ears, probably moves up from the practice squad, giving the Browns two quarterbacks with arms that can generously be labeled as adequate.

The Browns thus enter the Dolphins game with a pair of Pac-12 quarterbacks who played in pro-style systems in college (Hogan at Stanford) and were eminently successful. But all that means nothing at this level.

It also most likely triggers a serious return to the waiver wire by the Cleveland front office to check out which street free agents would be available and willing to come to Cleveland.

That list includes such luminaries as Michael Vick, Matt Flynn, Charlie Whitehurst, Tarvaris Jackson, Josh Freeman, Jason Campbell, Jimmy Clausen, Ryan Lindley, T. J. Yates and Drew Henson. Then again, there’s the trade route for some current backup, which is a more distinct possibility.

Whoever gets the call – and there is no guarantee the Browns will make any roster moves for the position this week – will serve more as a warm body initially because bringing in someone new requires time for him to learn a brand new system.

Because the new starter is a rookie, look for Jackson to dumb down the playbook, simplifying the play calls and pass protections for Kessler. Unless he believes the kid is bright enough to take on the kind of load McCown was given, the coach is smart enough to give his new quarterback something he can handle.

Kessler probably will spend the vast portion of this week getting down his timing down with a set of receivers he rarely threw to during training camp and the exhibitions.

Another imperative is making certain the offensive line protects Kessler as though he were the next Tom Brady. Considering the way they protected The Third and McCown, that could be asking a little too much with this group. The antidote is a series of quick developing passes.

Hopefully by this time next week, we won’t be writing about starting Browns quarterback Kevin Hogan.

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It took only one game for McCown to realize his new favorite target among the new wide receivers this season was Corey Coleman. Eight targets, five catches, 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Browns’ top draft choice against Baltimore.

The Third targeted him five times against the Eagles and connected twice for 69 yards, including a 58-yard bomb. He also had a 47-yard reception against the Ravens.

It would appear, at least on the basis of his first two games as a professional, that Coleman so far fulfills what the club envisioned when they dropped down twice in the lottery to select him. They wanted speed, the ability to stretch the field and production and he has delivered so far.

Now he is working with his third quarterback in three games (only in Cleveland) and the timing process begins all over again. With Kessler’s inability to stretch the field with his arm, Coleman will have to run short- to intermediate-type routes in order to become available.

One of the knocks on him coming out of college was his unfamiliarity with running the route tree at run-happy Baylor. With Kessler as his new quarterback, he should get plenty of opportunities to sharpen those skills.

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Joe Haden seems to be fully recovered from injuries that robbed him of most of last season. And after a slow start in Philadelphia, he looked more like the old Joe Haden against the Ravens.

Yes, he was burned on the first of Mike Wallace’s two touchdowns, but generally played a strong game with a pair of interceptions (one set up the third touchdown) and nearly a third. He was also strong in the run game, often coming up and taking on blockers on sweeps.

Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco picked on him all afternoon, but outside of that one Wallace slip, Haden sent notice around the NFL that the 2016 model is much improved over last season’s.

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It took one full season and two games, but Danny Shelton finally showed up against the Ravens. The burly nose tackle was mainly responsible for limiting Baltimore’s ground game to only 80 yards on 26 carries. For the Browns, that’s a remarkable figure.

Shelton was credited with eight tackles (two solo) and constantly bottled up the middle whenever the Ravens tried to run between the tackles. The Ravens’ two longest runs from scrimmage were 11 and nine yards.  

He did not get much penetration on passing plays, but tied up a couple of offensive linemen often enough in the first quarter, enabling other pass rushers to get close enough to Flacco to throw off his timing. Unfortunately, the pass rush tailed off in the final three quarters, but it wasn’t Shelton’s fault.

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Isaiah Crowell’s 85-yard touchdown run on the Browns’ second possession of the game was the second-longest such run from scrimmage in club history. Only Bobby Mitchell’s 90-yarder in 1959 was longer.

Mitchell was traded to the Washington Redskins as part of the deal that enabled the Browns to sign Ernie Davis out of Syracuse in 1962. Davis, who was supposed to pair with Jim Brown in the Cleveland backfield, died of leukemia in 1963. Mitchell went on to become a Hall of Fame wide receiver with Washington.

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Have you noticed how much better the Browns have become at executing screen passes? For the last several years, correctly running screen plays was a mystery. Now with the elusive Duke Johnson Jr. in the backfield, screens have returned. Jackson also threw in a couple of screens for Crowell and they worked.

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And finally . . . Kudos to fullback Malcolm Johnson on Crowell’s long run. Without his crunching block on Baltimore strong safety Eric Weddle, who had cheated up into the box, Crowell’s journey would have been a lot shorter. Once he got past that block, the Cleveland running back found another gear and burst between a cornerback and the free safety and was gone. . . . Duke Johnson Jr. touched the ball only seven times and gained 56 yards. Gotta be more touches. . . . Inside linebacker Demario Davis had another strong game with nine tackles, four solo. . . . Starting strong safety Ibraheim Campbell better watch out. Rookie Derrick Kindred is outplaying him and getting more reps. . . . The Browns fumbled three times against the Ravens and recovered all three. . .. All three Ravens’ sacks on McCown were by defensive linemen. . . . The Cleveland quarterback was also decked eight times after delivering a pass and hurried on 12 other dropbacks. . . . Didn’t often hear the names of rookie outside linebackers Emmanuel Ogbah and Joe Schobert. Second-game blues? Also rookie defensive end Carl Nassib, who was injured in the second quarter and did not make the score sheet. . . . Second-game blues, too, for Terrelle Pryor, who was targeted 10 times by McCown and came away with just three receptions for 32 yards.