Mid-week thoughts

Two items as the Browns prepare to hit the road for the next two weeks . . . 

There appears to be a chink or two in the Browns' armor along the offensive line. Most notably in defending against the pass rush.

It is entirely possible the five sacks they gave up against the Chicago Bears last Sunday was an aberration, considering how well they have protected Baker Mayfield since around midseason in 2020. The Bears' front seven was relentless and seemed to expose a weakness.

We'll get a much better idea of where that stands after the next three games, a veritable minefield of teams that frequently like to congregate at the quarterback.

The Minnesota Vikings, this Sunday's assignment as the Browns begin a two-game trip that concludes in Los Angeles against the Chargers, have recorded 10 sacks. So have the Arizona Cardinals, who drop in for a visit two weeks from Sunday. 

The Chargers have banked only five sacks, but any team with Joey Bosa locked in on the flank has got to be considered dangerous. The former Ohio State star has averaged 10 sacks a season in his five previous campaigns.

The Browns' offensive line was clearly the weakest unit against the Bears, whose defensive line seemed to overwhelm it every time Mayfield dropped back to pass. Not only was he sacked five times, he was hit another seven times and hurried on what seemed to be every snap.

Running the football did not seem to be a problem at all, though, with 196 yards generated by running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and four scrambles by Mayfield, who has rarely seen pressure like that in his last dozen or so starts.

If nothing else, expect members of the line to be challenged by head coach Kevin Stefanski and position coach Bill Callahan to prove what happened against the Bears won't soon happen again. Also look for Stefanski to dial up more screen plays to offset the pass rush.

Keep an eye on left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., who is trying to work his way through a sprained ankle suffered in the season opener in Kansas City and has labored. The good news, if you can call it that, is veteran lineman Chris Hubbard is back after sitting two games with a triceps injury and can fill in if needed

(This just in: Hubbard was ruled out by the team on Friday. That means Blake Hance will take over if Wills takes himself out of the game.)

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Congratulations to those who had the under in the over/under pool -- it was four -- with regard to how many games Greg Newsome II would play before missing one with an injury. 

The Browns' top pick in the May college draft arrived with nothing but glowing terms accompanying him about how smart he was, how well he played the position and how well he fit in the organization. 

"I think he really fits our profile," said General Manager Andrew Berry at the time, "He fits the smart, tough, accountable profile we want out of our players we bring into the building. . . . There was not a major discernible hole within his skill set and he has a high level of competency across all areas we value at the cornerback position," High praise, indeed.

The GM seemed to either ignore, perhaps deliberately, one major hole. Newsome, as it turns out, had a very long history of injuries in college. It's a hole that prevents him from being able to suit up for every game, often called being reliable.

Granted it's difficult to play every game, especially in the professional ranks. But Newsome spent three years at Northwestern playing barely half the Wildcats' games. Eighteen of 35, to be exact. He missed eight games (ankle) as a freshman, four (unknown injury) as a sophomore and five (groin) as a junior.

He never played a full season at Northwestern and yet he somehow wound up as the Browns' No 1 pick in the most famous lottery in professional sports. He checked a lot of boxes, but injuries, at least as far as the Browns were concerned, didn't seem to be considered.

So when they announced Tuesday that Newsome would miss the Vikings game Sunday with a calf problem, apparently suffered early in the fourth quarter of the Bears game according to the snap counts, it did not come as a shock to those who have followed his career.

It foretold the notion it would be only a matter of time before Newsome would be unavailable. His consecutive games played screeches to a halt at three. For those who picked the over, good luck next time.

Something tells me we'll see Newsome missing more games as the season unwinds. The Browns for the time being are calling Newsome day-to-day. But if the calf issue lingers, they might have to place him on injured reserve until it heals.