The New Cleveland Browns

During the week 3 edition of Thursday Night Football, Baker Mayfield made his highly anticipated debut. Near the end of the second quarter, starter Tyrod Taylor was knocked out of the game with a concussion. This meant Cleveland would finally be able to see their number one overall pick in regular season action.

At this point in the game starter, Taylor was just 4 for 14 with only 19 passing yards. I think I speak for Browns fans everywhere when I say he did not live up to the expectations. I defended Taylor throughout the offseason and even through the first two regular season games.

Him getting knocked out of the game can possibly be the best thing to happen to this franchise since their return in 1999. Watching the game you could feel the stadium erupt with electricity with every pass Mayfield threw. His first drive ended on a field goal but those were the first points the Browns scored that night.

In the second half, Mayfield showed off his accuracy and his ability to avoid pressure. He showed no signs he was nervous. It was like he has been here before.

He would finish the game 17 of 23 for 201 yards. That’s almost as many yards as Taylor threw for in the entire game against New Orleans. Mayfield did it in just over two quarters which led to the first Browns win since 2016 which meant the victory fridges opened.

Although he has yet to throw his first NFL touchdown, he caught a two-point conversion to tie the game late in the third which sent the football world into pandemonium.

Mayfield was officially named the starting quarterback by Hue Jackson this afternoon even though Taylor cleared concussion protocol. If Taylor was named the starting quarterback petitions and protesting would have probably gathered outside the practice facility in Berea.

The Browns travel to Oakland to take on a struggling Raiders team next Sunday. Mayfield will bring along the momentum from Thursday night. The culture change has taken a huge step with Mayfield now starting. Let’s see how the already high number of bets on the Browns in Vegas from the beginning of the season jump up with the number one pick at the helm of the Browns.

The big story this past weekend in the NFL was kickers. Oh, what a terrible time to be a kicker. There were a total of 19 missed kicks in week 2.

The Browns kicker at the time was Zane Gonzalez. The second-year kicker from Arizona State University missed 2 field goals and 2 extra points. A combined 8 total points which would have given the Browns the victory.

Once again the Browns defense was showing how they’re not the problem that’s holding them back from a victory. The defense forced 2 fumbles in the first half and held the Saints to a field goal on a possession in which they got to the Browns 2 yard line.

Cleveland was up 12-3 headed into the 4th quarter. With 2:17 left in the game, Michael Thomas caught a pass from Drew Brees for a touchdown. Alvin Kamara then scored on the 2 point attempt to give New Orleans an 18-12 lead.

Another loss for the Brownies, right? Not so fast. On 4th and 5 from the Saints’ 48-yard line, Tyrod Taylor threw an absolute dime to Antonio Callaway who made a fingertip catch in the back of the end zone.

With 1:16 left all Gonzalez needed to do was make the extra point to give the Browns the lead. He missed for his third missed kick on the day.

The Saints get the ball back and Drew Brees pulls a vintage Drew Brees and brought the Saints within field goal range. With 21 seconds left the Saints hit a field goal giving them the 21-18 lead. Something magical happened next, however.

Taylor showed why he’s a captain and brought the Browns to within field goal range and gave them the chance to send the game into overtime. All the pressure was on Gonzalez who already missed 3 kicks on the day. With 3 seconds left in the game, he missed his 4th kick of the day and handed the Saints the victory.

The very next day the Browns hosted multiple kickers for tryouts and waived Gonzalez. They signed Greg Joseph, a rookie who made less than 70% of his kicks at Florida Atlantic University.

The new kicker will get his chance to prove he’s worth the signing on Thursday Night Football against the New York Jets. This game is in Cleveland and the Browns are going to debut their color rush jerseys for the first time as well. The Browns a strong opportunity to win their first game since December of the 2016 season.

Will the Browns finally put everything together and win or will there be another unthought of way to lose the game? This is the first time they are favored since 2015 which is one very hopeful sign.

Last weekend was the first time since December 24th of the 2016 season that the Browns did not lose a game. They still have yet to win a game since then, however. That is correct, the Cleveland Browns’ losing streak came to an end this past weekend on a tie.

The last time there was a tie in the NFL was October 30th, 2016. Almost the same amount of time its been since the Browns won a game.

At the end of the first half of the very rainy game in Cleveland, the Steelers were winning 7-0 and only due to a roughing the passer call which was later announced as a bad call by the NFL. The Browns defense was doing pretty well with 3 interceptions off Big Ben. Two of those came from the first round rookie Denzel Ward.

At the end of the third, the Browns were on the board with a 20 yard run by Tyrod Taylor. Instead of stepping out of bounds once he reached the defenders like most QB’s would, he lowered his shoulder and drove into the end zone. This mentality is part of the reason the Browns traded for him in the offseason.

Trailing 21-7 entering the 4th quarter the chances seemed slim for the Browns. With 7:32 left, team captain Myles Garett forced a fumble from James Connor which Jabrill Peppers returned to the 1-yard line. Very next play was a 1-yard touchdown run from newly acquired running back Carlos Hyde.

The atmosphere instantly changed. The crowd sounded the loudest they’ve been in a long time.

Fast forward to 2:58 left in the 4th quarter. The Steelers backed up on their own 19-yard line are stuffed once again by the Browns defensive line. After the Browns get the ball back and drive down the field, “Flash” Gordon returned. Josh Gordon made an incredible touchdown catch which would send the game to overtime after the extra point.

With 1:44 left in OT, Steelers kicker Chris Boswell had the opportunity to end the game with a field goal. What happened next made the world think, this is it. The Browns are actually going to win the game.

Boswell missed the field goal which turned the ball over to the Browns. After failing to convert yet again, the Browns punted the ball back to the Steelers. With 48 seconds left in the game, on their own 38-yard line, Rothlesburger was hit from behind and the ball fell into the hands of Browns linebacker Joe Schobert.

On 3rd and 11 with 13 seconds left in the game, Browns kicker Zane Gonzalez came out to try to win the game. The kick was blocked by none other than TJ Watt who has been a nightmare for the Browns in the past 3 matchups.

The Browns may have not won but they also did not lose. There is a lot of optimism, however. The Browns defense performed very well forcing 6 turnovers. Myles Garret is continuing to prove he is worth the number one pick in last years draft. He finished the game with 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

The offense, however, has a lot of work to do. Mainly Tyrod Taylor who finished the game just 15 of 40 for 197 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. If the Browns offense can find its rhythm next week against New Orleans, they might bring a win back home with them.

In the first episode of this year’s Hard Knocks, defensive end Carl Nassib made headlines with his financial advice to teammates. From this moment on he became a fan favorite on the show. Just about everytime Nassib was talked about by broadcasters, analysts, and others, his financial knowledge was brought up. Nassib had spent the previous two seasons with the Browns before being released this week.

Another Hard Knocks star was defensive end, Nate Orchard. Orchard had spent the previous three seasons with the Browns. His standout moment was when the show featured his wife’s famous cookies which he brought to the practice facility to share with the team. Unfortunately, neither his pick-six in the final preseason game nor his wife’s cookies could keep him on the team.

Things got more personal on the show when viewers were introduced to Devon Cajuste. Cajuste was signed by the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He was cut from the team and was eventually signed to the Packers practice squad that same year. In January of this year, he was signed by the Browns with the opportunity to try out for the team.

His father, who is Devon’s biggest fan, has suffered multiple heart attacks and other health issues throughout the years. While talking about his heart struggles on the show, his father revealed to Devon for the first time that he had suffered yet another heart attack.

In the final episode, Gregory reveals that the doctors want him to have open heart surgery but he wants to try all other options first. Gregory was unable to watch his son play for the Browns in the final preseason game in Detroit in person due to his health issues. Devon was cut by the Browns just a few days later.

An unlikely Hard Knocks star was fourth-string quarterback Brogan Roback. He first gained attention in the first episode when he was assigned to provide snacks for the quarterback RV. Roback’s girlfriend was introduced to the show which added yet another personal story.

Roback, however, did not see significant playing time until the last preseason game. All his girlfriend wanted was for him to throw at least one touchdown. That he did and she broke down into tears of happiness.

Unfortunately for the for the former Eastern Michigan quarterback, this was not enough. Some speculated that he would have been signed to the practice squad but just like dozens of other players, their dreams were crushed this week. On September 4th, the Browns released their unofficial roster for week 1 against the Steelers.

With the Browns being the focus of this years HBO’s Hard Knocks series even more attention has been drawn to them than in the past. Last year the Browns were just the second team in NFL history to finish a season 0-16. With the acquisition of general manager John Dorsey and free agents, Carlos Hyde, Tyrod Taylor, and Jarvis Landry, there is plenty of optimism leading up to this season. With all of the buzz surrounding the team 5 key items stand out.

Can Jarvis Landry and Josh Gordon work together? Both of these receivers are used to being the number one receiver on the team. About halfway through the season, I will compare the stats of the two to previous seasons.

Will the three-headed running back system work? This offseason the Browns signed Carlos Hyde to a 3-year deal and also drafted Nick Chubb from Georgia. Combine these two along with veteran Duke Johnson and all of a sudden there are three running backs on the team. After the first few games of the season, I will post a blog comparing the Browns running game to other teams that have less than three running backs.

Will Baker Mayfield get his chance to start this season? Mayfield has been in the spotlight for years now. He was drafted first overall by the Browns with the intention of becoming the franchise quarterback. However, head coach Hue Jackson has said multiple times that Tyrod Taylor will be the starter. After week ten I will post a blog either showing signs that Mayfield will or will not play.

Will Hue Jackson be fired? In his first two seasons as the head coach for the Cleveland Browns, Jackson holds a record of 1-32. In previous years Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have given new coaches very short leashes. They have publicly stated that they trust Jackson however. At the end of November, there should be indications by their record that show whether or not Hue will be another head coaching victim.

Can Josh Gordon stay clean? Gordon has been suspended multiple times throughout his career for violating the leagues’ drug policy. Many are surprised that he still has the chance to play for an NFL team. After going into rehab over the offseason it seems as if he is a changed man. One slip up, however, can cost him his career. Week five should be a good indication as to if Gordon really wants to stay in the league or not through his effort and performance on and off the field.

With social media playing a large role in most peoples lives, NFL teams utilize this to their advantage. Teams use these platforms to both promote their team as well as attract positive attention. Posts include everything from creative videos to giveaways to timelapse and much more.

In 2017 the Dallas Cowboys were one of the more active teams on social media with their #EarnTheStar campaign. The purpose of this campaign was to promote the tradition of playing for the Cowboys. They included comical posts as well however to attract different audiences.

When Vidauntae “Taco” Charlton was drafted by the Cowboys in 2017 a picture was posted with him holding a plate of tacos on their Instagram. Posts like these make it fun to follow your favorite team on social media.

The Cleveland Browns have been virtually silent when it comes to creative content on social media. Last year they began to make short videos for Instagram showing players warming up before the games but that was as creative as it got. With only one win in the past two seasons, I imagine it was hard to have a positive attitude and get players to do creative videos.

With all of the hype that has surrounded the Browns this offseason, their social media team has been more active. In July when players were returning to Berea, a spoof of ‘The Office’ intro was released. Although it may not seem like a big deal, it attracted a lot of positive attention from around the league and even became trending on Twitter.

Within the last ten days, the Browns released two more videos through social media that quickly took over the internet. On August 21st Baker Mayfield showed his best impression of the GM John Dorsey. A week later rookie wide receiver Blake Jackson recreated the famous ‘contagious’ speech veteran wide receiver Jarvis Landry gave during the first ‘Hard Knocks’ episode.

You might think, so what? The Browns made a couple of funny videos, whats the big deal? The big deal is that these posts are bringing a kind of attention to the Browns organization that has not been attracted since 2007 when the team finished 10-6.

This attention shows the changing attitude inside the organization. Hopefully, the social media team can keep up with posts like this and the team can do their part on the field throughout the season.

This blog will be focusing on the changing culture in the Cleveland Browns organization. As many of you know the Browns have not exactly been the team to beat in recent years. They’ve been called a dumpster fire and part of the “mistake on the lake”.  Throughout the season this blog will be updated weekly about how the culture is changing in the organization as well as how it is affecting the city of Cleveland itself.

I am currently a junior at West Virginia University studying broadcast journalism with a minor in sports communications. My goal for after college is to become a director for a sports broadcasting company and travel around the world for different events. I am originally from Cleveland and have been involved in sports my entire life in some way. Throughout my life, the Browns have been the laughing stock of the NFL but recently they have been raising eyebrows across the league. This is why I chose this topic for my blog.