Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 12/5: The Team Tilts to One Side
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CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
One of the undisputed facts of the 2025 Cleveland Browns season is that the Cleveland Browns defense is good. It’s so good, in fact, that the club’s 3-9 record requires brain-warping levels of ineptitude on the part of special teams and the offense to attain it.
Yet another sign of the talent imbalance between the defense and the rest of the team came yesterday in the form of various awards given to the team.All-World defensive end Myles Garrett was recognized as the Defensive Player of the Month, and rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger was handed the Defensive Rookie of the Month. In addition, safety Grant Delpit was awarded the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year candidacy.
Over at Pro Football Focus, the Browns situation with having the best defensive line in the league is considered so self-evident that their headline defaults to talking about who is in second.
But the team is still 3-9. Which leads me to a question - is Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz too persuasive for the team’s greater good? The DC famously pounds the table for the players he wants on defense and, last year at least, was given what he wanted: DT Mason Graham and LB Schwesinger, both of whom look like great picks within the aggressive structure of Schwartz’s defense.
But the team remains so devoid of offensive talent that it is crippled against all but the league’s worst defenses. This has the effect of putting the defense on the field a lot, occasionally resulting in collapses due to the many, many opportunities that opposing offenses are given and, as with the 49ers game, the field position at which they get them.
Of course, Schwartz can’t be criticized for getting what he wants and making the best of the players he’s given. This defense is the best in the world. He’s done his job.
The truth of the situation is that the Deshaun Watson trade, and the resulting lack of top picks the last three years, has meant that the team suffered without the usual infusion of talent throughout the roster and is mainly responsible for the 3-9 record due to Watson’s total lack of value at this point. What talent they’ve been able to take from Day 1 of the draft, and the second round has been almost entirely spent on defense.
On special teams, Bubba Ventrone feels he still has the support of the team’s front office, as they are cognizant of the talent deficiency on special teams. Likewise, it’s very likely that head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will be spared because of the lack of talent on offense.
But did this talent gap happen? Was it all Schwartz being just too damn persuasive? Perhaps that played a role, or a larger role was played by simply grabbing the best player at each draft spot, who just happened to be on defense.
Whatever the root cause, the team clearly needs to address it in the 2026 draft, where one would reasonably expect 80% of the picks to focus on offense.
All this goes to say that I love me some Caleb Downs, the unbelievable Buckeyes safety. Still, if he’s the pick at #6 (or wherever the Browns wind up), I think I’m going to change over to running a website on Mac productivity tools, or politics, or anything else but Browns football. Using the team’s top pick on defense in 2026 would be a bridge too far.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
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THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
Mosquitoes Can’t Resist Smell of Fungus That Lures Them to Their Death Inside Trap Patented by Researchers - (goodnewsnetwork.org)
I’m not sure this is good news, although mosquitoes are far from my favorite critter in nature. I remember when Japanese Beetle lures were a big thing until people realized that they just brought more of the pests into one’s yard because they loved the smell so much. So, with these traps, I recommend setting them up in your neighbor’s yard. I’m sure they won’t mind.
WRAPPING UP
When not questioning the value of the team’s most successful coach, 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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