Dawgs By Nature
Cleveland has still yet to score 20 points in a game through five weeks.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on offense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 5 game against the Washington Commanders.
QB: What. A. Disaster. Whatever progress that Deshaun Watson built up against the Raiders was thrown away against Washington. The accuracy, the decision-making, the offense being late to huddles, the low yards, the lack of points, he is the top person responsible. Again, I’ll add the disclaimer that I think Ken Dorsey’s offense has been poor, but I believe it’s because they tried to roll the dice this season and structure an offense around what would make Watson comfortable — at the expense of the strengths of the rest of the offensive players — and the result has still been utter crap. This week, it finally got to the point where Watson’s poor play was talked about by all the national media, and how he shouldn’t be playing. But the Browns are sticking with him because that stupid trade and amount of money dished out to him. Pro Football Focus graded Watson at a 40.0 this week. Here’s an example — poor play call and design, but also poor decision:
RB: Statistically, the running backs got the majority if their yardage in the fourth quarter while Cleveland was being blown out 34-6, and the Commanders’ defense had already proven their point. In the first half, D’Onta Foreman had 4 carries for 4 yards, and Jerome Ford had 2 carries for 3 yards. The way we run from Shotgun is so damn stupid, especially when the passing game is zero threat. These guys have no chance with that, and I don’t think Nick Chubb would either if he were in that spot.
WR: We had Amari Cooper lead the team in receiving, but Deshaun Watson was off on a bunch of passes to him. The rest of the receiving group were non-factors, and Cedric Tillman is stuck in the Donovan Peoples-Jones role of getting snaps but never seeing a target. It’s funny how with Watson, these guys are lucky to get one ball their way, but with Joe Flacco, any one of them could have a 5-catch, 60-yard performance any given week.
TE: The Browns’ first pass of the game went to David Njoku on a quick rollout for 14 yards. He didn’t get another pass, and then exited the game early due to a new knee injury. Jordan Akins isn’t a star player, but compared to everyone on offense, he is probably performing at one of the highest levels. He caught the team’s lone touchdown in the fourth quarter with a nice high-pointed grab. Akins was the Browns’ top-graded player on offense with a 79.2. Blake Whiteheart, who graded well last week, was the team’s lowest-graded player by PFF with a 34.1.
OL: Another game, and another poor performance by Dawand Jones. He is not getting better and has taken...
