Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns are on their bye week, and boy, do they need it!
It has been a harsh first eight weeks of the 2025 season for the Browns as they transitioned from an ineffective Joe Flacco quarterback to an equally ineffective Dillon Gabriel, while also dealing with daily questions about Shedeur Sanders, the most over-talked about fifth-round pick in the history of the NFL Draft.
There are some good things, like having Myles Garrett and the play of this year’s draft class. But, those are more than balanced out by the bad, including a wide receiver group that can’t catch and an aging and injured offensive line.
Put it all together, and it is no wonder the Browns are sitting at 2-6. And as improbable as it seems, Cleveland is not out of the race for the AFC North Division, as the Pittsburgh Steelers have just four wins, while the Cincinnati Bengals have three, and the Baltimore Ravens check in with two victories.
Of course, the Browns have lost to all three of those teams already this season, so the odds of a turnaround in the second half of the season are very much not in their favor.
But there are still nine games to go, starting next week against the one-win New York Jets, and with that in mind, we turned to Dawgs By Nature’s august roundtable with one simple question:
If you could make one move in the second half of the season, what would it be and why?
Let’s see what everyone had to say.
Barry Shuck: I think the Browns should just go ahead and start Shedeur Sanders at quarterback. The season is not lost quite yet, and the schedule gets easier from this point on. This means Cleveland has a chance to end the year with a respectable record, just probably not good enough to get one of the three Wild Card seeds. Why not just play him?
The coaches claim he isn’t ready, and we have to trust their judgment. Shedeur’s fans are saying he is a superstar being muted. Just end it and play the kid. The next game is against the New Jersey, um, York Jets, who are a trash team with a great defense and no offense. Sound familiar? Start him, let him play the entire game, and just see what is what. If he is extraordinary, then hurray for the Browns. If he sucks, then we will know what to do from this point on, including next year’s NFL draft.
Jared Mueller: It is simple: starting to play more under center and less out of the shotgun, as much as that might be Dillon Gabriel’s comfort spot. The wide zone, play-action, and bootleg game help younger, limited players overcome their shortcomings. While Gabriel might throw more interceptions because he has to turn his back to the defense, having him under center would help to marry the run and pass games much...
