Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 11/20: Swiss Army Knives and Mel Kiper’s Mission
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (TheOBR.com) Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
Random thoughts on a random Thursday amidst another losing Cleveland Browns season.
DO YOU RECALL EVER HEARING THIS BEFORE? Because of his collegiate and personal stardom, there are different standards for QB Shedeur Sanders than for your typical Cleveland Browns backup quarterback. This cuts both ways. The positive expectations among some for Shedeur’s debut were so high that reality was a crushing disappointment. At the same time, I have never heard a coaching staff attacked for not giving first-team reps to a backup before - certainly not a rookie fifth-rounder.
We all have a lot of experience with Browns backup quarterbacks entering to fanfare and then disappointing, but I cannot recall a situation where the coaching staff was blamed for not treating him like a starter from the jump. This, of course, is silly given how the NFL works. Of course, my memory is a sieve, but this seems exceptional in many ways. I don’t recall this excuse being deployed much in the past.
MEL KIPER STICKS TO HIS GUNS: Despite Sanders’ disappointing play in his first game, one of his biggest fans is standing by his draft weekend tantrum about Sanders not being selected until the fifth round. Mike Kiper, in a recent ESPN YouTube video, defended Sanders’ play and trotted out the “first team reps” rationale. “He made some accurate throws”, Kiper protested. “He had them in a position where he almost tied that football game late. He showed mobility and escapability. He hung in there without getting any reps with the first team. “
Maybe (hopefully, for the Browns’ sake) time will justify Kiper’s love of Shedeur in the draft. He’s certainly taking a risk by doubling down.
EVERY ROSTER NEEDS AN ADIN HUNTINGTON: Browns undrafted free agent defensive lineman Adin Huntington is the Swiss Army knife of players. He can do a little bit of everything. Last Sunday, he did his usual snaps at fullback and on special teams, but was used at defensive end rather than his usual defensive tackle position. This should continue as long as Alex Wright is out. Huntington played edge a little in camp and during “Hungry Dawg” practices, and considers it “easy”.
BERNIE BOUNCING BACK: It’s so good to see our friend Bernie Kosar bouncing back and already getting involved in helping others again. About a week ago, I was so worried about Bernie and the reports we were getting, and this liver donation looks like a miracle. These early days after a live transplant are important, so keep Bernie in your thoughts and prayers.
GARRETT DEFENDED FROM UNEXPECTED CORNER: I don’t pay a lot of attention to the weekly awards the NFL hands out. I get the emails from the NFL each week and generally glance at them in the unlikely event a Cleveland Brown gets honored. But the snubbing of Myles Garrett is getting silly, given the season he’s having. No less a personage than TJ Watt’s brother, JJ, is pointing it out. Watt’s right in that playing on a losing team really decreases the odds of individual awards. I look for this to get corrected at least once during the remainder of the season now that there’s some attention on it.
THE BROWNS ARE NOT GOING TO TRADE MYLES GARRETT: How many times do we have to write this? The cap impacts are enormous, and the Browns’ defense is outstanding in major part due to Garrett. This team is focused on using the 2026 off-season and their many picks to bolster the offense and match the team’s defensive aggressiveness, not to tear down the defense. It just makes no sense. Nonetheless, we got an article yesterday about “Four places to trade Myles Garrett” that was then used in clickbait stories about how “The Bears are predicted to trade for Superstar”, etc., etc. I’m not linking any of them. It’s nonsense. I thought the media’s job was to inform, not trick, their consumers.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
CLEVELAND BROWNS GOODIES
CLEVELAND BROWNS ARTICLES
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Week 12 College Quarterbacks Review - WRITER
Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 1119 Click on This or I Swear Ill do Another Quarterback Article - WRITER
Cleveland Browns Film Room Shedeur Sanders NFL Debut - WRITER
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Follow Up on Trading Watson Question
Could a new coaching staff fix the OL with players on roster
Concussion protocol and Sanders timeline
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THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
The grim truth about the “good old days” - (bigthink.com)
For a time, there’s been a trend to hide from progress and dream of bucolic “simpler times” before modern chaos and constant change were part of our lives. The truth is, in my opinion, the life of an average human being has never been better. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways it could get better - not having to do any work would be nice, and that “aging and death” thing is a gigantic annoyance - but the steady advance of the last 200+ years have led to all sorts of life-improving things. I’m convinced that there’s never been a better time to be alive than right now. And I hope that continues for my children and grandchildren.
WRAPPING UP
When not anticipating a sack-fest on Sunday, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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