Do the up-and-coming Browns have enough to beat the Ravens?
WHAT: Week Two vs. Cleveland Browns
WHEN: 1 p.m.; Sunday, September 17
WHERE: M&T Bank Stadium; Baltimore (71,008)
RECORDS: Browns, 0-1; Ravens, 1-0
LIFETIME SERIES: Ravens lead, 27-9; Ravens are 14-4 in Baltimore, with wins in eight of the last nine home meetings
TV: WJZ-TV (Channel 13) (Andrew Catalon, James Lofton, booth; Steve Tasker, sidelines)
RADIO: WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Stan White, Dennis Pitta)
REFEREE: Gene Steratore
About the Browns
–Along with the Baltimore Colts, the Browns were part of the All-America Football Conference, winning all four of its championships before joining the NFL in 1950. Since that point, the Browns have won 18 division titles and earned 24 playoff berths, tied for the league’s tenth-most.
–The Browns are one of four franchises that have never appeared in a Super Bowl (the others are Houston, Jacksonville, Detroit). Cleveland last won a championship in 1964–two seasons before the Super Bowl was born. Since returning to the league as a 1999 expansion team, Cleveland has made just two playoff appearances (2002, 2007) and has had only one winning season (2007).
NFL great, Jim Brown, played on the ’64 Browns’ championship team (photo, sportige.com)
—The Ravens and Browns will meet again Dec. 17 in Cleveland. That marks the second time in three years that the return match will be played in Cleveland. The teams are meeting in September for the fifth time in the last six seasons, and the ninth time in the past twelve. The Ravens have swept the head-to-head series 11 times (none since 2011), while the Browns have recorded two sweeps. There have been five splits, the most recent occurring in 2015.
—Former Ravens QB coach, Hue Jackson, is the Browns’ head coach. He’s in his second season with the team and third as a head coach, going 8-8 in a one-year stint at Oakland (2011). Jackson had been part of the Cincinnati Bengals’ coaching staff for four years where he worked with the Bengals secondary, special teams, running backs, and served as the team’s offensive coordinator. Veteran defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, a 27-year NFL assistant, is in his first year in Cleveland.
–Last season the Browns nearly became the second team in the 16-game schedule era (1978-present) to lose every regular-season game. Cleveland lost its first 14 games in 2016— only four of them by single-digit margins — before upending the then-San Diego Chargers, 20-17, on Christmas Eve.
–In 2016, Cleveland was mostly a bottom-of-the-pack team statistically, finishing 30th in total offense (19th rushing, 28th passing, 31st scoring) and 31st in total defense (31st vs. rush, 21st vs. pass, 30th scoring).
—The Browns had a minus-12 turnover ratio last year, which included a league-low three fumble recoveries. The Browns were one of only ten teams to lose more than ten fumbles (11). But in last week’s season opener–a three-point home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers–they held the Steelers even. They also committed just four penalties in that game. The Browns had a respectable 95 infractions last year.
—Six different Cleveland quarterbacks have lost to the Ravens in their trips to Baltimore. Rookie second-round pick, DeShone Kizer (52nd overall), gets his turn this week. Kizer, only the second Browns rookie to ever start a season opener, was sacked seven times last week at Pittsburgh. But he also completed 20 of 30 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown. He ran for another score.
—RB Isaiah Crowell ran for a 75-yard touchdown against the Ravens in Cleveland last year — part of a 133-yard game. He managed only 33 yards against Pittsburgh last week, but that output was good enough to move him into ninth place on the Browns’ all-time rushing list.
–The starting wideouts are expected to be second-year receiver Corey Coleman, who missed six games last year with a broken hand. Veteran Kenny Britt, who signed a four-year, $32 million contract to replace ex-Ohio State star Terrelle Pryor, who’s now in Washington. Coleman caught five passes for 53 yards against Pittsburgh, but Britt had a key drop and only one reception for 13 yards. Third-year USC product, Randall Telfer, is the tight end, but Seth DeValve, who scored against the Ravens last year, is also back.
–Despite the presence of stalwart left tackle, Joe Thomas, the Browns allowed seven sacks against Pittsburgh. But Thomas is on a remarkable streak, having made the Pro Bowl after each of his ten seasons in the league. Thomas has played and started in all 161 regular-season games of his career and has not missed any of the 9996 offensive snaps the Browns have run over that span. Joining Thomas on the line is former Cincinnati Bengal, Kevin Zeitler, who’s the right guard. Leukemia survivor, Shon Coleman is the right tackle.
Cleveland’s indestructable tackle. Joe Thomas (photo, mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
—The Browns are the league’s youngest team: 52 of the team’s 53 players were acquired by the team only since 2014. Thomas (2007) is the exception. Twenty-eight players drafted by the Browns are still with the team. Cleveland drafted ten players this year (three in the first round) and currently has twelve picks in next year’s draft.
–Defensively, Williams is instituting a new 4-3 scheme, which is a departure from the 3-4 that the Browns used for many years. He is a blitz-oriented coordinator, but they only got to Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger once last week. Last season, Cleveland recorded a mere 26 sacks, which was tied with Detroit for second-fewest in the NFL (Oakland, 25).
—Among the team’s notable front-seven defensive players are former 12th overall pick Danny Shelton at DT, DE Emmanuel Ogbah (team-high 5.5 sacks last year), and former New England LB Jamie Collins, who was acquired last year via a midseason trade. Collins signed a four-year extension in the off-season and pairs with Christian Kirksey (third in the league in tackles) as an aggressive pair of edge rushers. Top overall pick, Myles Garrett (ankle), will miss this game.
—The Browns intercepted ten passes last year, tied for the league’s fourth-fewest. Before releasing veteran Joe Haden, they added veteran free-agent help at the corners with Jason McCourty (from Tennessee) and Jamar Taylor (from Miami). Rookie safety Jabrill Peppers, who was the 25th overall pick, had four tackles and averaged 11 yards on three punt returns.
—Kicker Zane Gonzalez, a rookie from Arizona State, was taken in the seventh round of the draft (224th overall). Punter Britton Colquitt, part of a prolific family of punters, put three of five punts in the coffin corner against the Steelers last week. He had a 40.7 net average last year, which was around the middle of the league pack.
—Chris Tabor is in his seventh season as the Browns’ special teams coordinator. Over that time, Cleveland has averaged 10.6 yards per punt return, which is second-best in the league (Baltimore is third at 10.3). Cleveland is the only team in the league to have at least one AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award winner each year over that span. Cleveland is also the last team to run back a kickoff for a TD against the Ravens; Josh Cribbs did it in 2011. The Ravens haven’t allowed a kick-return touchdown in 168 consecutive runbacks.
Game Prediction
Despite an overwhelming shutout road division-win last week, the Ravens have reason to be concerned. The Browns are young with a new, aggressive attitude. But while Cleveland should be better than it has shown in recent years, it’s not good enough to play consistently at the Ravens’ level–even as mediocre as Baltimore has been.
Expect the Browns to hang tough into the second half before their rookie quarterback succumbs.
Ravens 27, Browns 10
