CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
It's 6AM, and before me lies a massive game for the Cleveland Browns as well as a blank screen where words are supposed to go. I can put nearly anything on this blank sheet, from confident predictions of victory to downbeat (and more realistic) visions of defeat. Today's bloviation is limited only by what I choose to do with it.
Likewise, the Browns have a new start today and a chance to define themselves in 2025. Will this be a repeat of the horrific 2024 season, or will this team show that they are changed from that 3-14 squad? We will learn a lot today. Let's go.
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
QUINSHON JUDKINS DEBUTS
The Browns are likely to make rookie running back Quinshon Judkins active today and use him in what is reported to be limited duty. He'll make appearances like a backup running back and be used in situations where the coaching staff feels confident in making use of his skills. There will be no double reverses in his playbook today. The long-term vision is that he will carry most of the load and split reps with Dylan Sampson, which has the makings of a lethal combination.
Judkins splitting snaps with Sampson is reminiscent of how Judkins was used last year alongside Treveyon Hendrickson at Ohio State. Judkins went from a featured role at his previous school to sharing opportunities as he was driven to win a national championship and was willing to sacrifice being the focal point of an offense to do so. Everything from Ohio State indicated that Judkins was a solid, self-sacrificing teammate. Let's hope that his singular off-field problem remains just that and he is indeed the good-character athlete the Browns thought they were getting last April.
I made no secret of the fact that I preferred Treveyon Henderson over Judkins for the Browns' purposes in the draft. I felt he was a more complete back. But the Browns clearly saw Judkins as their favored choice, and it will be fascinating to watch how these two backs compare in the NFL.
Speaking of Ohio State, yesterday I saw a true freshman, Bo Jackson, begin to emerge as a star running back for the Buckeyes, piling up over 100 yards again while splitting carries with more experienced backs. I think expectations for Judkins are limited, but it would be great to see him establish himself in the opportunities he gets today, as Jackson did with initially limited opportunities. The vision behind the Browns' running attack is a potent one, and it would be incredible to see it start to emerge against the dreaded Ratbirds today.
JOE FLACCO FLASHBACKS
The Joe Flacco I remember from 2023 was a bit of a gambler, making powerful throws into tight coverage and succeeding more often than not. The player I saw last weekend was safer and more controlled at the line of scrimmage. I'm left wondering if this was just a mistaken impression, or if Flacco has changed his game a little bit in 2025, taking more care of the ball and opting to throw it away more frequently.
Joe Flacco
Joe Flacco (Photo: Getty)
The playoff game against the Houston Texans haunts my memories, with the two pick-sixes that Flacco threw, devastating to the Browns' chances in that contest. The Browns have to avoid a repeat of that performance at all costs. I liked what I saw last week, which was a competent quarterback giving the "at least average" quarterback performance we were hoping to see from Deshaun Watson the previous year, but never got.
While the Browns' running game was never successful against Cincinnati, it did help in the sense that it burned a lot of clock and gave the Browns a time of possession advantage. The Ravens will need to respect the run for the play-action to work, and getting some chunks of positive yardage will take pressure off of Flacco. This isn't a nice-to-have for Flacco to be successful today. It's a must-have. Baltimore is a much more lethal team than Cincinnati.
KEYS TO THE GAME
As mentioned above, the Browns' wide zone scheme adjustment desperately needs to kick in this week, and the team's runners need to do much better than the horrible yards-per-carry average they attained in week one. This makes everything easier for Flacco.
One unfortunate aspect of depending on rookies like the Browns are doing on both offense (Harold Fannin, running backs) and defense (Graham, Schwesinger) is that rookies have an annoying tendency to be inconsistent from game to game and within games. The Browns need the same level of play from these youngsters against the Ravens as they had against the Bengals to have a chance.
Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome were great last week in preventing the lethal Bengals wide receivers from going nuts against the Browns. They need to play at least at the same level today, and not relax as Jackson extends plays with his feet.
I'm a little unhappy that DT Mike Hall isn't ready yet, as he adds another dimension to the Browns' pass rushing attack from the middle, and he won't be available again today. The key for the Browns front seven will be patience, not overpursuing Jackson, keeping him contained and limiting the plays he will inevitably make. Make him snap the ball 10-12 times to score, increasing the chances that a negative play or a mistake will happen
Kick the damn ball through the uprights. You've got one job, Szmyt, do it, or get thrown onto the large stack of failed placekickers (the Cade York memorial body pile) that the team has been using for ex-kicker storage since Phil Dawson retired. Worst-case scenario for the GM is that the game is tight and the kicker shanks it away, again.
THIS GAME MATTERS
Sure, this game especially matters to Cleveland Browns fans of a certain age, since the classless Ratbird organization decided to use the occasion to laud the sneaks and traitors who convinced Art Modell to betray loyal Browns fans in 1995. This is irrelevant to the players, who are focused on the job at hand and, if anything, more fired up about the 11.5 Vegas line that the Ratbirds were given over Cleveland. Both, honestly, are disrespectful as hell, and should fire the team up to make a statement.
These sorts of things play a role up until the second the opening kickoff happens and players start focusing on their assignments, one-on-one competitions, and not making mistakes. Which is the way it should be.
While this game is meaningful to people like myself, still exorcising the ghosts of thirty years ago, it's more impactful to the Browns, as this game has the potential to send the team off in two very different directions. A 0-2 start creates a sort of "here we go again" feel for the team's veterans, whereas a 1-1 start and a victory against a Super Bowl contender would set the season in an exciting new direction as the team braces for another Super Bowl contender in the Green Bay Packers next Sunday. This opening schedule is brutal. The Browns need to steal one today in order to stop the team from a potential losing spiral. This game matters not only in the context of 1995, but more so in the context of 2025.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
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Cleveland Browns Activate Quinshon Judkins and Release Gage Larvadain - Fred
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WRAPPING UP
When not trying to forget Flacco's performance against Houston, 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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