Written by Thomas Moore

---

While the rest of the AFC North spends the weekend getting beat up, the Cleveland Browns are enjoying their bye week while gearing up for what have unexpectedly turned into an important final seven games of the season.

The Browns find themselves at 4-5 and just on the outside of the final playoff position in the AFC. While a 4-5 record is generally not something that should get fans overly excited, it’s different with this year’s Browns team.

While the record may not currently reflect it, the Browns seem better than a 4-5 team, especially when you consider how bad their offensive numbers are. Heading into this weekend’s games, the Browns are:

• 26th overall on offense;
• 26th in points per game;
• 30th in yards per play; and,
• 29th in third-down conversions.

Oh, and each of the three quarterbacks on the roster have started at least two games this season. And that fact goes a long way toward explaining a large part of the offensive struggles.

“This bye week gives us a chance to look at our personnel, take a good look,” Browns coach Rob Chudzinski said earlier in the week. “Are we doing the right things with them? Are there some things that we can do better and put them in better position? Because as coach, I believe that we always want to put our guys and try to put our guys in the best position for them to succeed, which will give us the best chance of succeeding.”

Chudzinski is on to something with using the bye week to evaluate where the Browns currently stand how they got here, so let’s do the same with a Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down take.

Thumbs Up: The quarterback play of Jason Campbell and Brian Hoyer.

Campbell and Hoyer have made a combined four starts where they also finished the game, going 3-1 in the process. While the offense has been pedestrian no matter who is playing quarterback, Hoyer and Campbell have been able to avoid making the type of drive-choking mistakes that have become a staple of Weeden’s game.

In a combined 171 pass attempts, Hoyer and Weeden have been sacked just nine times and have thrown just three interceptions – all in Hoyer’s first start against Minnesota. But starting with the fourth quarter of that game against the Vikings, Hoyer and Campbell have gone a combined 13 quarters without turning the ball over.

Not taking sacks and not handing the ball over has helped the Browns get the most out of an offense that is still a work in progress.

Thumbs Down: The play of quarterback Brandon Weeden.

Coming into the season it seemed that if Weeden was ever going to put it together and be a viable NFL starting quarterback, it would be under the tutelage of Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner. And while Weeden may have looked good in the controlled environment of a practice, once the games started it was a different story.

Weeden wasn’t helped by the absence of wide receiver Josh Gordon for the first two games of the season, but he also didn’t help himself. Twenty-one sacks, six interceptions and more bad will from the fans than we’ve seen directed at a quarterback in a while, and it’s clear that Weeden’s time in Cleveland is rapidly coming to a close. (Although there is still a part of us that believes we haven’t seen the last of Weeden on the field this season.)

It’s too bad, really, that Weeden’s legacy in Cleveland can’t be the Thursday night game against Buffalo when he replaced an injured Hoyer and led the Browns to a primetime win. Instead, Browns fans will be left with the underhanded interception against Detroit that short-circuited a Cleveland comeback attempt.

And Weeden will be left holding a clipboard on the sidelines, somewhere far away from Cleveland.

Thumbs Up: The play of Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron.

It didn’t take long for Gordon and Cameron to make an impact on the Browns offense. Cameron opened the season with nine receptions and a touchdown vs. Miami, and then added three touchdown receptions in Week 3 against the Vikings. And while his production has slowed down a bit – he has just 20 receptions for 240 yards in the past five games after pulling in 30 receptions for 360 yards in the season’s first four games – he is still in the Top 20 in both categories.

Gordon made an even bigger splash when he returned from his suspension, catching nine passes for 146 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota. Even though he missed two games, Gordon still ranks among the league’s best in receiving yards and average yards per reception.

Taken together, Gordon and Cameron have accounted for 41 percent of the team’s receptions, 52 percent of their receiving yards and 56 percent of the receiving yards. As they go, so goes the Browns offense.

Thumbs Down: The play of Davone Bess and Greg Little.

As opposing defenses place more of their focus on Gordon and Cameron, the Browns are going to need Bess and Little to start producing at a more consistent level.

Bess was brought in to be the veteran receiver and safety blanket on third down for the quarterback. Instead, Bess has spent most of the season dropping passes, with the low point coming in Kansas City, where his three drops and fumbled punt helped derail the Browns upset bid.

Bess bounced back last week against Baltimore with two touchdown receptions, and if the Browns are going to stand a chance over the season’s final weeks they will need Bess to be the player they thought they were acquiring. The one thing he has going for him is that he has been through far worse in his life than dropped passes, so there is hope that he will bounce back and not let a little adversity keep him down.

As for Little, it hasn’t been the best of times for the third-year wide receiver. Only one touchdown on the season and he didn’t pick up a 100-yard receiving day until last week; more and more Little looks like a No 4 wide receiver on a good team. Unfortunately for the Browns, they need more than that from him.

Thumbs up: The pass rush.

We know that sacks alone are not an indication of the effectiveness of a defense, but it sure is nice to see the Browns be able to pressure opposing quarterbacks.

Cleveland is currently second in the NFL with 31 sacks and, well, it certainly puts a hop in our step knowing that the Browns still have two games remaining with Pittsburgh, where Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked 31 times already. (And it would be negligent of us not to point out that the Steelers are currently 2-6.)

First-round pick Barkevious Mingo leads the team with four sacks and the best part is the Browns have been able to bring pressure from a variety of places. The defensive line has combined for 10.5 sacks (led by Desmond Bryant’s 3.5), while rush linebackers Mingo, Paul Kruger and Jabaal Sheard have combined for nine sacks.

The fact that the Browns can bring pressure at anytime from anywhere means that even if someone has an off day, that doesn’t mean the opposing quarterback is going to have an easy day.

Thumbs down: The play of the linebackers.

This has more to do with Craig Robertson and D’Qwell Jackson, but Kruger, Mingo and Sheard are not going to escape easily.

While Jackson has been his usual self in leading the Browns in tackles, and Robertson is third, it takes more than raw numbers to be effective. Jackson and Robertson have combined for just one tackle for loss, so while being able to tackle is nice, bringing someone down five or eight yards down the field is not as nice.

Heading into last week’s game against Baltimore, Pro Football Focus ranked Robertson 30th and Jackson 33rd (out of 36) among linebackers who have been on the field for at least 50 percent of their team’s plays against the run. That’s not good and it doesn’t even get into Robertson’s struggles in pass defense.

As for the outside linebackers, while the sack numbers are exciting, there are some concerns. Kruger has totaled just 2.5 sacks and 12 solo tackles this season and it seems like we go through long stretches of games without hearing his name called on the broadcast. Call us crazy, but we kind of expected a bit more from a player that received $21 million in guaranteed money from the Browns in free agency.

We’re willing to chalk up the struggles with Kruger to the fact that Sheard missed three games with an injury, forcing Kruger and Mingo to play more snaps than is probably ideal.

Hopefully if they can stay healthy the rest of the season, we will see a big final push from the trio.

Thumbs up: The run defense.

After years and years of watching opposing running backs run wild and free through the Cleveland defense, the Browns have finally decided to do something about it.

The Browns are currently seventh in rushing yards allowed per game and fourth in yards per carry. That has helped the Browns lead the league in average yards per play. They have also not allowed an opposing running back to exceed 100 yards in a game this year – something that used to happen almost on a weekly basis.

There are still some tough tests left on the schedule as New England (No. 10), Chicago (No. 12) and the New York Jets (No. 11) are all solid running teams. But if the Browns can continue to be stout against the run, especially as the weather turns progressively worse, they may stand a chance.

Thumbs down: The defense at other times.

As good as the defense has been against the run, it has been just as bad on third down and when the opposing team enters the red zone.

The Browns are currently ranked 31st in the league in both categories, allowing the other team to convert 46 percent of the time on third down, and allowing 17 touchdowns and give field goals in 25 drives inside their own 20.

“Not very good. I think we should be better in third down and red zone,” defensive coordinator Ray Horton said earlier in the week. “We should have more wins. If I had done a better job, we’d have at least one more win. Sometimes one win is all you need to get you into the playoffs, so ‘incomplete’ and hopefully you guys will allow me to get there at the end of the season and ask me the same question.”

Thumbs up: The kicking game.

Like any right-minded Browns fan, we were disappointed when the team and longtime kicker Phil Dawson were not able to come to an agreement to keep the reliable Dawson in town.

But so far, so good with kicker Billy Cundiff, who is perfect on 18 extra points and has missed just two of 15 field goals. (And is two-of-two on field goals longer than 50 yards, while Dawson is zero-for-two, for what that is worth.)

The same can be said for punter Spencer Lanning, who while just 20th in the league in net average, has placed 16 punts down inside the 20-yard line and has had only three touchbacks.

Thumbs down: Travis Benjamin’s injury.

The loss of return man Travis Benjamin to a season-ending knee injury is a major blow to the Browns offense.

Benjamin’s speed in the return game was on display against Buffalo when he returned seven punts for a franchise record 179 yards and a touchdown. He ranked sixth in the NFL this year with an average of almost 12 yards per punt return.

“Special teams always have to worry about game planning for a guy like that just because he’s so electric,” Browns running back Fozzy Whittaker said of the injury. “He’s so fast and quick. It’s really hard to contain a guy like that and just seeing the way he went down, you never want to wish that upon anybody, and you always pray that he heals up safely and comes back stronger than what he was before.”

Benjamin’s ability to give the offense a short field is going to be tough to overcome and, while Davone Bess should be a sure-handed replacement as a punt returner, he doesn’t have anywhere near Benjamin’s explosiveness. We’re all for the whole “next man up” philosophy the Browns have employed this year, but this is a big one.

Thumbs up: The remaining schedule.

It’s probably a bit much to look at the remaining schedule for a team that hasn’t won more than five games since 2007 and say, “hey, this looks pretty good,” but work with us here for a moment.

The Browns only have two games left that you could mark down as highly likely to be losses – next week’s game in Cincinnati and the Dec. 8 game in New England. Other than those two? Well, things don’t look as dire right now.

Two games against a Steeler team that entered the weekend at 2-6 (in case we didn’t mention that) and is playing at a half-empty Heinz Field (so much for Steeler fans being great), plus dates with the currently winless Jacksonville Jaguars and a Chicago team that is another injury to Jay Cutler away from playing one of the McCown brothers at quarterback, are looking pretty good right now.

The key game on the schedule? The Week 16 showdown against the Jets just three days before Christmas. The Jets currently hold the final playoff spot in the AFC, just one game ahead of the Browns.

What do you think the odds would have been before the season that the Browns-Jets game would be a prime candidate to be flexed into the Sunday night slot for Week 16?

Thumbs down: The running game.

The Browns are currently performing at a sub-expansion team level when it comes to the running game.

Don’t believe us? Take a look at the numbers:

• In 1999, the expansion Browns rushed 1,150 yards, nine touchdowns and averaged 3.7 yards per carry.
• This year’s team is on pace to rush for 1,304 yards, one touchdown and the same 3.7 yards per carry.
• Terry Kirby led the ’99 Browns in rushing with 452 yards, averaging 3.5 yards per carry and rushing for nine touchdowns.
• Willis McGahee is currently the Brows leading rusher and he is on pace to finish the year with 524 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown and an average rush of 2.6 yards.

Thinking about that makes our head hurt.

“I’m looking at today’s NFL and I’m just not sure there’s a place for a running back anymore,” Browns left tackle Joe Thomas told ESPN this week. “Fifty throws is the average. You get a guy who gains 100 yards, whoop dee do. It doesn’t win you games anymore.”

Thomas has a point – to an extent. The NFL is certainly a passing league, and just running the ball doesn’t guarantee anything; look no further than last week’s game against Baltimore when McGahee ran 21 times for a grand total of 31 yards.

But there is a difference between having someone like Peyton Manning or Drew Brees throwing the ball 50 times a game and asking Jason Campbell to do it. The former is a sound strategy; the latter, not so much.

Teams may not need to run the ball all the time, but they do need to be able to run it when they need to and there is going to come a time this season where the Browns are going to find themselves in that situation.

And if they keep going the way they have with the running attack, it’s not going to be pretty.

Thumbs up: The coaching staff.

Horton has done a nice job of blending some new players into the core of a defensive group put together over three years by former general manager Tom Heckert and turning the defense into one that is on the cusp of being something special.

Turner has done probably as good as could be expected with an offense that is still limited and one that has gone from Weeden to Hoyer, back to Weeden, and now on to Campbell at quarterback.

Then there is Chudzinski, who brings a sense of calmness to the sidelines each week, making it (pleasantly) hard at times to remember this is his first time as a head coach.

There is a lack of the head-scratching decisions that highlighted the Pat Shurmur era and none of the joy-sapping grimness of the Eric Mangini era. Instead, we get a weekly dose of football where fans can focus on what is happening on the field, rather than what is happening on the sidelines.

From holding the team together through the surprise trade of Trent Richardson and the early season suspension of Josh Gordon, through the quarterback changes, knowing when to give the team a kick in the butt, and his willingness to take calculated risks on fourth down, Chudzinski is showing some moxie and making Browns fans feel better about the future.

“I think he’s done a great job, from the beginning, of laying the ground work, a foundation; then, letting guys know what he expects,” Turner said of Chudzinski on the team’s website. “If you’re up front and tell them what you expect right from the beginning, then, as you go through the year, they respond to you. This team has responded to Chud in a great way.”

Things are far from perfect for the Browns, but for the first time since 2007, fans have a reason to watch games in November and December and not spend the entire time talking about next year’s draft. And that is saying something.

(Photos courtsey of ClevelandBrowns.com)