Browns coach Hue Jackson couldn’t just sit back and relax while he watched NFL games on Thanksgiving Day.
What did he do instead?
“Get mad and start throwing things at the TV,” Jackson replied.
Why?
“Because I want to be where some of those teams are,” he said. “That is the goal. When you watch Dallas doing what they are doing, that is the vision. That is what you see. I want to be in that situation with this organization, with this team.”
The Cowboys have the NFL’s best record at 10-1 after edging Washington 31-26 while fans throughout the country feasted on turkey. They also have two sensational rookies — quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott — whom the Browns passed on in April’s draft.
But the Cowboys are also built to allow those skill players to thrive because they have what’s widely considered the best offensive line in the league.
On the other hand, the Browns have the league’s worst record at 0-11 and a struggling offensive line haunted by three-time Pro Bowl center Alex Mack and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz leaving as free agents in the offseason.
The Browns allowed eight sacks and 14 quarterback hits last week in a 24-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had just 13 sacks in the previous nine games. Rookie quarterback Cody Kessler was knocked out of the game with a concussion late in the third quarter.
The pathetic display of pass protection prompted wide receiver Terrelle Pryor to lash out after the game and rip the O-line, running backs and tight ends for allowing the Steelers to pummel Kessler and quarterback Josh McCown. It also led nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas to lament the organization’s failure to re-sign Mack and Schwartz.
Now the Browns will make their fifth change at starting quarterback this season when McCown leads them against the New York Giants (7-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium. Kessler remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol after suffering his second concussion in 29 days behind shoddy protection.
“Our goal is to not let our quarterback get hit,” Jackson said. “It is a unit issue. It is not just one person. It is everybody. Everybody has to do their job and do it to the best of their ability to give us an opportunity.”
There are problems across the board on offense — the Browns have scored 10, seven and nine points in their past three games — but the line’s issues are at the forefront.
Center Cameron Erving and right tackle Austin Pasztor are downgrades from Mack and Schwartz. And the gap between Erving and Mack is staggering any way you look at it.
For instance, ProFootballFocus.com ranks Erving 36th out of 36 centers and Mack third. The website also lists Pasztor in a tie for 31st among 79 tackles and Schwartz as 17th.
To make matters worse, starting left guard Joel Bitonio lasted only five games this season because he suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury in October. Rookie Spencer Drango and Alvin Bailey have started three games apiece in Bitonio’s spot.
“Joel is a great player,” Thomas said. “Whenever you lose a great player, one of the best at his position in the NFL, by necessity you are replacing him with somebody who is not as good.”
With Thomas and right guard John Greco the only proven members of the O-line healthy enough to play, no one should be surprised that the Browns and Indianapolis Colts are tied for the most sacks surrendered in the NFL this season at 38.
“There is no magic formula [to fix the pass protection],” Thomas said. “It is just a matter of using your technique, getting the right hat on the right hat, finishing your block and making sure everyone is on the same page. If we do that, we have confidence that we will be able to bounce back.”
Nothing is ever easy with the Browns, though. The Giants have a formidable defensive line led by ends Jason Pierre-Paul (four sacks) and Olivier Vernon (four sacks) and tackle Damon Harrison (1½ sacks). They’re ranked just 29th in the NFL with 18 sacks, but the Steelers were at the bottom of the category before they pulverized the Browns.
“We are playing a tremendous front,” Jackson said. “I think we all know that. No. 90 [Pierre-Paul] is scary. He is a really good player, and so is Vernon.”
The line, running backs and tight ends must be at their best to prevent the Giants from teeing off the way the Steelers did. McCown must adjust the protection at the line of scrimmage if he detects an unfavorable matchup for the Browns. He also must be efficient with his reads and get rid of the ball quickly.
And last but not least, the Browns must revive their running game. They handed off to their running backs a measly 10 times against the Steelers and finished with 33 rushing yards on 13 attempts (2.5 average). Through the first four games, they had the No. 1-ranked rushing attack in the NFL (149.3 yards per game), but it has plummeted to 25th (93 yards per game).
“We have to be able to throw some body punches early in the game, wear those guys [on the defensive line] down and make it tough on them to just pin their ears back and rush our quarterback,” associate head coach-offense Pep Hamilton said. “It has a compounding effect when you can run the football early in games.
“You invest in those body punches. They play tremendous dividends in the second half. We have to be able to run the football. That will take some pressure off our pass protection as well as we have to more effect on the first and second down in the general sense. We have to be a lot more effective executing our offense on early downs so that we can stay out of third-and-long situations.”
Hamilton admitted the coaches must be creative to find ways to involve running backs Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson more against the Giants, who are ranked eighth against the run (92.2 yards allowed per game).
“We expect that teams are going to come in at times and just really focus their attention on stopping us from running the football,” Hamilton said. “But that is still no excuse for us to just not be able to run the football. We have to do a better job that way.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.